Assessment of knowledge and risk factors about gestational diabetes mellitus among pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Proper Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) management is important for better health outcomes. Knowledge and education are key components for better treatment and diabetes control. In patients with GDM, poor health literacy may be there which is associated with poor diabetic control and require educational program to improve health outcomes. A risk factor is any characteristic of an individual that can increase the likelihood of developing a disease. Risk factor assessment is usually recommended in many populations in early pregnancy. The prospective study was conducted for 6 months to assess knowledge and risk factors associated with gestational diabetes in 58 pregnant women using KAP questionnaire from WINGS project. The study found that knowledge among non GDM patients was poor when compared to GDM patients. Family history and obesity were found to be the major risk factors for development of gestational diabetes. So the future direction should focus on early prediction and effective preventive measures before GDM develops. Therefore a need for patient counseling is essential to reduce the GDM patients in future.