Hassan Bahaeldin
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Sep 30;9(9):4633-4636. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_747_20. eCollection 2020 Sep.
In women who reside at high altitude, fasting plasma glucose is lower than at sea level, and further decrease of fasting blood glucose was noticed during pregnancy. This study aimed to set cutoff level of fasting plasma glucose during pregnancy at high altitude. The obtained data intended for interpretation of gestational blood sugar results and early detection of those who at risk of developing gestational diabetes.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the cutoff level of fasting plasma glucose during pregnancy at high altitude. The subjects were pregnant women who attending the routine antenatal care at Abha Maternity Hospital and Mahayil Aseer Maternity hospital. Plasma glucose concentrations and Body Mass Index (BMI), socio-demographic and obstetric data were entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Comparison amongst these variables were carried out through t test (numerical variables) and Chi Square test (proportions). A value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
The overall results obtained indicated that the fasting plasma glucose concentrations and BMI were significantly lower ( = 0.0001) at high altitude area (Abha) than low altitude area (Mahayil Aseer). Age was the only socio-demographic factor that showed significant difference between the two groups (p-value was <0.05).
Up to our knowledge, this is the first study addressing the interpretation of fasting blood glucose during pregnancy at high altitude area in Saudi Arabia. Our findings support the importance of careful interpretation of fasting blood glucose of pregnant women who reside at high altitude areas. The implementation of this policy at high altitude areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is recommended for early detection of gestational diabetes and timed intervention to avoid complications.
居住在高海拔地区的女性，其空腹血糖低于海平面地区，且孕期空腹血糖会进一步降低。本研究旨在确定高海拔地区孕期空腹血糖的临界值。所获数据用于解读孕期血糖结果，并早期发现有患妊娠期糖尿病风险的人群。
开展一项横断面研究，以确定高海拔地区孕期空腹血糖的临界值。研究对象为在阿卜哈妇产医院和马海勒·阿西尔妇产医院接受常规产前检查的孕妇。将血糖浓度、体重指数（BMI）、社会人口统计学和产科数据录入社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）20版。通过t检验（数值变量）和卡方检验（比例）对这些变量进行比较。P值<0.05被视为具有统计学意义。
总体结果表明，高海拔地区（阿卜哈）的空腹血糖浓度和BMI显著低于低海拔地区（马海勒·阿西尔）（P = 0.0001）。年龄是两组之间唯一显示出显著差异的社会人口统计学因素（P值<0.05）。
据我们所知，这是沙特阿拉伯首次针对高海拔地区孕期空腹血糖解读的研究。我们的研究结果支持了对居住在高海拔地区孕妇的空腹血糖进行仔细解读的重要性。建议在沙特阿拉伯王国的高海拔地区实施该政策，以早期发现妊娠期糖尿病并及时进行干预，避免并发症。
