One in six births: how is gestational diabetes detected?
The World Health Organization has announced it will review its recommendations for detecting and diagnosing high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. According to WHO data, the phenomenon affects approximately one in six births worldwide, about 21 million annually. The new recommendations have not yet been published, and testing guidelines in Israel remain unchanged.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this week that it will review its recommendations for detecting and diagnosing high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. According to data presented by the organization, the phenomenon affects approximately one in six births worldwide, about 21 million annually. The definition includes several conditions: diabetes diagnosed before pregnancy, diabetes first diagnosed during pregnancy, and gestational diabetes. Distinguishing between them can be particularly challenging in places where many women enter pregnancy with undiagnosed diabetes. Accurate identification is important because high blood sugar levels during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of complications, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, stillbirth, a very large baby, and low blood sugar in the newborn. The link to risks does not mean that every pregnancy with high blood sugar will end in complication, but it explains why appropriate diagnosis and monitoring are important. A WHO expert group is expected to discuss the evidence next month. The organization plans to update its diagnostic recommendations published in 2013, in light of new studies on screening, diagnosis, and classification methods. New diagnostic thresholds or changes in the timing of tests have not yet been published. Until official guidelines are published and a decision is made on their implementation in Israel, pregnant women should continue to follow existing referrals and monitoring.