Screening: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Release Date: 2003

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening for gestational diabetes.
Rating: I Recommendation.

Rationale: The USPSTF found fair to good evidence that screening combined with diet and insulin therapy can reduce the rate of fetal macrosomia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The USPSTF found insufficient evidence, however, that screening for GDM substantially reduces important adverse health outcomes for mothers or their infants (for example, cesarean delivery, birth injury, or neonatal morbidity or mortality). Screening produces frequent false-positive results, and the diagnosis of GDM may be associated with other harms, such as negatively affecting a woman's perception of her health, but data are limited. Therefore, the USPSTF could not determine the balance of benefits and harms of screening for GDM.