Table 1. Characteristics of the 604 Faroese mother-child pairs overall and according to GDM diagnosis, with p for difference between the groups.
| Characteristic | Overall N=604 Mean±SD or N(%) | GDM – No N=555 (92%) Mean±SD or N(%) | GDM – Yes N=49 (8%) Mean±SD or N(%) | pa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal age at delivery, years | 29.2 ± 5.2 | 29.1 ± 5.1 | 30.7 ± 5.4 | 0.03 |
| Family history of diabetes | ||||
| No | 321 (53.2) | 310 (55.9) | 11 (22.5) | |
| Yes | 283 (46.8) | 245 (44.2) | 38 (77.6) | <0.001 |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI, kg/m2 | 23.8 ± 4.0 | 23.7 ± 4.0 | 24.9 ± 4.5 | 0.05 |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI status b | ||||
| Underweight | 21 (3.5) | 20 (3.6) | 1 (2.0) | |
| Normal weight | 404 (66.9) | 375 (67.6) | 29 (59.2) | |
| Overweight | 133 (22.0) | 121 (21.8) | 12 (24.5) | |
| Obese | 46 (7.6) | 39 (7.0) | 7 (14.3) | 0.25 |
| Gestational weight gain, kg | 14.8 ± 5.2 | 14.8 ± 5.2 | 14.1 ± 4.7 | 0.33 |
| Parity | ||||
| Nulliparous | 162 (26.8) | 149 (26.8) | 13 (26.5) | |
| Multiparous | 442 (73.2) | 406 (73.2) | 36 (73.5) | 0.96 |
| Education | ||||
| Primary | 36 (6.0) | 35 (6.3) | 1 (2.0) | |
| Secondary | 134 (22.2) | 125 (22.5) | 9 (18.4) | |
| Terciary | 434 (71.8) | 395 (71.2) | 39 (79.6) | 0.34 |
| Smoking during pregnancy | ||||
| No | 434 (71.8) | 394 (71.0) | 40 (81.6) | |
| Yes | 170 (28.2) | 161 (29.0) | 9 (18.4) | 0.11 |
| Cord serum Vitamin D, nmol/L | 28.2 ± 18.3 | 28.6 ± 18.5 | 23.4 ± 15.6 | 0.08 |
| Duration of gestation, weeks | 39.6 ± 1.3 | 39.6 ± 1.3 | 39.8 ± 1.1 | 0.19 |
| Preterm birthc | ||||
| No | 594 (98.3) | 545 (98.2%) | 49 (100%) | |
| Yes | 10 (1.7%) | 10 (1.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0.48d |
| Child sex | ||||
| Male | 316 (52.3) | 290 (52.2) | 26 (53.1) | |
| Female | 288 (47.4) | 265 (47.8) | 23 (46.9) | 0.91 |
| Birth size measures | ||||
| Weight, g | 3712 ± 497 | 3695 ± 497 | 3907 ± 461 | 0.004 |
| Macrosomia (birth weight≥ 4500g) | ||||
| No | 563 (93.2) | 520 (93.7) | 43 (87.8) | |
| Yes | 41 (6.8) | 35 (6.3) | 6 (12.2) | 0.11 |
| Length (at age 14 days), cm | 54.3 ± 2.1 | 54.3 ± 2.1 | 54.7 ± 2.0 | 0.27 |
| Head circumference, cm | 36.9 ± 1.4 | 36.9 ± 1.4 | 37.0 ± 1.3 | 0.99 |
a
Chi-square for categorical variables if not indicated otherwise; Student's t-test for continuous variables (all variables shown in this table are normally distributed).
b
BMI status defined using the World Health Organization recommended cutoffs for white adults.
c
Preterm birth defined as <37 weeks of gestational duration.
d
Fisher exact test instead of chi-square because of the low expected cell frequencies of preterm children.
GDM: gestational diabetes mellitus
BMI: body mass index