| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 8
| Issue : 1 | Page : 22-26 |
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Knowledge about gestational diabetes mellitus amongst pregnant women in South Tamil Nadu
Balaji Bhavadharini1, Mohan Deepa1, Sivagnanam Nallaperumal2, Ranjit Mohan Anjana1, Viswanathan Mohan1
1 Department of Epidemiology, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Department of Diabetology, Prashanth Hospitals, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Correspondence Address:
Balaji Bhavadharini
Department of Epidemiology, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, 4, Conran Smith Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600 086, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | 9 |
DOI: 10.4103/jod.jod_2_17
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Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), including risk factors, importance of screening and post-partum follow-up, amongst pregnant women attending antenatal care in maternity clinics in South India. Methodology: The study participants were recruited from two antenatal clinics in Chennai and a few primary healthcare centres in South India. A detailed questionnaire was used to obtain basic data regarding general awareness and knowledge about GDM and other issues related to screening, risk factors, monitoring, long-term consequences and post-partum follow-up. Education status was graded as illiterate, primary education, secondary education and graduates. A composite score for knowledge of GDM was calculated. Results: A total of 100 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics were interviewed, of whom 59 were from urban Chennai and the rest from Kanchipuram district. Regarding risk factors of GDM, 48.8% of rural women were unaware of any risk factor while 55.9% of urban women reported a family history of diabetes as a risk factor. 49.2% of urban women and 75.6% of rural women did not know the long-term consequences of GDM to babies born to GDM women. 50.8% (urban women) said GDM could lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus in future while only 45% of rural women were aware of this. Mean composite score increased with higher education with graduates in both urban and rural areas, scoring the highest.
Conclusion: Knowledge about GDM is poor amongst pregnant women, especially in rural areas. This highlights the need for training physicians, paramedical people and the public regarding GDM. |
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