Gestational Diabetes Among The Arsenic Exposed Women From Arsenic Contaminated Area Of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

@#Exposure to groundwater arsenic contamination has been demonstrated to be associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh. But, the association between arsenic exposure and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in Bangladesh remains to be reported. This cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the occurrence of GDM amongst pregnant women from the arsenic contaminated area. A total of 200 pregnant women who were aged 20 years and more, having gestational age more than 21 weeks, and had attended a district hospital for antenatal checkup were selected for the study. Of the total 200 participants, 15.5% were found to have GDM and it was significantly high (p=0.029) in women with higher gestational age. Regarding arsenic exposure, 39.5% of the participants were categorized as arsenic exposed and amongst them the proportion of GDM was found high (20.3%). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the increase in gestational age and BMI, and a higher level of arsenic in urine of the total participants, had significantly (p<0.05) ability to predict the likelihood of having GDM (1.2, 1.1 and 9.2 times respectively). While logistic regression analysis among the arsenic exposed participants showed that higher level of BMI was 1.2 times and arsenic in urine was 9.4 times likely to predict the likelihood of having GDM. Thus, it was revealed that the increased concentration of arsenic in urine had the strongest ability to predict the likelihood of developing GDM among the pregnant women. The study concluded that the arsenic exposed pregnant women suffered more from GDM compared to the non-exposed pregnant woman.