Antenatal Anxiety in Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Objectives: The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is gradually increasing all over the world. Some studies determined that the prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher in pregnant women with versus without GDM. The present study aimed to determine whether GDM enhances anxiety level in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This cross-secitonal study was performed in 281 pregnant women presented to the Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital, Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic between June 2014 and June 2015 and were diagnosed with or without GDM based on 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test. A survey form created by the researchers and Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale were performed in all pregnant women. Results: A total of 281 pregnant women were enrolled in the study and 133 (47.33%) were healthy, whereas 148 (52.67%) had GDM. The mean age of the participants was 30.17 ± 5.62 years and gestational age was 202.71 ± 56.31 days. According to educational status, 178 (66.90%) of the participants were primary school graduates. The mean scores of anxiety subscale and depression subscale were determined as 9.16 ± 2.88 and 9.05 ± 2.42, respectively. While the score of anxiety subscale was found 10 or higher in 108 (40.30%) pregnant women, the score of depression subscale was 7 or higher in 236 (88.40%) of them. Conclusion: In our study, the average anxiety score of pregnant women with GDM was significantly higher than women without GDM and no difference was found between the two groups in terms of depression level. Further researches are needed to clarify that diabetes in pregnancy causes anxiety, but this study has shown us that GDM may cause an increase in antenatal anxiety scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]