Blood glucose levels of pregnant women at different gestation periods in Aba area of Abia State of Nigeria

Blood glucose levels of pregnant and non-pregnant women were assayed at different gestation periods. The volunteers were divided into four groups based on certain criteria: Group A served as control and consisted of 150 women who were not pregnant; Group B consisted of 120 women who were at the first trimester of pregnancy; Group C consisting of 120 pregnant women at their second trimester of pregnancy; and Group D consisted of 150 volunteers who were at the third trimester of pregnancy. The mean blood glucose levels of the four groups were as follows: Group A, 6.04 mmol/L; Group B, 7.6 mmol/L; Group C, 7.4 mmol/L; and Group D, 11.0 mmol/L. The pregnant volunteers were regrouped into A2, B2, C2 and D2 based on their ages. Group A2 falls within the age group 19 - 24 years, Group B2 25 30 years, Group C2 31 - 36 years and Group D2, 37 - 42 years. Their mean blood glucose levels were 7.0, 8.4, 8.5 and 7.5 mmol/L, respectively. It was observed that elevated blood glucose level occurred after the second pregnancy reaching its peak after the 6(th) pregnancy. It can be seen that pregnancy induces gestational diabetes on susceptible patients and this occurs mostly at the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.