Screening for diabetes in pregnancy in a regional area with a high Māori population.

AIMS: To identify and document factors associated with screening for diabetes in pregnancy in a regional area with a high Māori population in New Zealand.

METHODS: An audit was undertaken of routine hospital data collected from all 656 women who gave birth, between June and December in 2013 and 2014, in two Mid-North Island hospitals in the Bay of Plenty region.

RESULTS: Of the 656 woman who gave birth during these periods, only 416 (63%) were screened for diabetes in pregnancy, including 390 (60%) for gestational diabetes mellitus later in pregnancy. After controlling for age, screening was less common in Māori (56%) compared with European women (76%). After adjusting for ethnicity, women aged 35-40 years were more likely to be screened compared with women aged 25-29 years (77% versus 61%; p=0.02). Screening was associated with longer hospital stays following birth, with screened women more likely to stay >5 days than <1 day, compared with unscreened women (84% versus 56%; p<0.0001). Screening was significantly higher in 2014 than 2013 (68% versus 58%; p=0.008).

CONCLUSIONS: Greater effort is required to increase screening, especially for Māori women who have increased risk of type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus and of poorer outcomes.