A team of researchers has come up with a new blood test that may better predict gestational diabetes.
The study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that a single measurement of plasma glycated CD59 (GCD59), a novel biomarker for diabetes, at weeks 24-28 of gestation identified, with high sensitivity and specificity, women who failed the glucose challenge test as well as women with gestational diabetes.
Plasma levels of GCD59 were also associated with the probability of delivering a large-for-gestational-age newborn.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs during a woman’s pregnancy, increasing the mother’s risk of delivering a large-for-gestational-age baby, which can lead to pre-term birth, fetal injury, perinatal mortality and cesarean delivery. Gestational diabetes is also a risk factor for preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.