GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS: STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EARLY DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

This paper presents a narrative review of the challenges and current strategies for the early diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), one of the most common and increasingly prevalent perinatal complications. Diagnosis, traditionally performed between the 24th and 28th gestational weeks through the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), faces challenges due to a lack of global consensus on the criteria to be used, which generates wide variation in reported incidence rates. The study highlights the importance of early screening in high-risk pregnant women, identified by factors such as obesity, advanced maternal age, and family history. The study discusses the potential of new predictive models, which combine multiple clinical and biochemical markers with machine learning algorithms, to identify women at risk as early as the first trimester. Treatment is based on nutritional therapy and physical activity, with insulin therapy being the first-line pharmacological treatment when necessary. It is concluded that standardizing diagnostic criteria and implementing earlier screening strategies are essential to mitigate adverse outcomes associated with GDM and promote maternal and child health.