The purposes of this project are to determine the effects of abnormal glucose tolerance on outcome of the pregnancy, to determine long-term prognosis for the women and their offspring, and to identify diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy in women in the Gila River Indian Community. By means of a glucose tolerance test as well as chart review, the diabetes status of every woman is determined at two-yearly intervals and during the third trimester of each pregnancy. As third trimester glocysylated hemoglobin did not predict future diabetes while third trimester 2-hour glucose, obesity, age and particy each did, we studied the correlation between glycosylated hemoglobin and plasma glucose in pregnant and nonpregnant women and evaluated the changes in glycosylated hemoglobin which occurred with pregnancy. Controlled for age, BMI, and gravidity, glycosylated hemoglobin and 2-hour plasma glucose were more highly correlated in 2124 nonpregnant (r=0.86) than in 1207 pregnant (r=0.30) women. In 369 normoglycemic women examined both when pregnant and when not pregnant, the glycosylated hemoglobin was lower during pregnancy by approximately 0.45% (p<0.05). Controlled for age, BMI, and gravidity, the 2-hour plasma glucose predicted future diabetes in both nonpregnant and pregnant women, but glycosylated hemoglobin did so only in nonpregnant women.
