Background:

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) affects between 2 and 10% of pregnancies in the United States, with trends of increasing prevalence and a significant amount of variability across race and ethnicity, maternal age, and insurance status. Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) have been documented to have a higher prevalence and risk of developing GDM compared to non-Hispanic white populations and have been under-studied in health disparities research.

Methods:

Using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2016-2022 surveys, we conducted analyses for the overall PRAMS sample as well as within-group analyses among participants who identify as Asian and NHOPI to identify risk factors for GDM. Descriptive statistics were also collected in the Asian and NHOPI subsample, stratified by Asian and NHOPI ethnicity. Bivariate analyses were performed to explore the relationship between potential GDM risk factors among the overall analytic sample and within the Asian and NHOPI subsample, and multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate potential predictors of GDM.

Results:

Asian and NHOPI ethnicities differed by prevalence of GDM at 17.2%, 19.56%, 10.8%, 10.71%, and 18.49% for Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and Other Asian, respectively. Compared to White individuals (reference group), the odds of GDM were higher for Asian and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander individuals in the adjusted model (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.19, 95% CI: 2.62-2.9). Native mothers also demonstrated significantly elevated odds (aOR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.4-1.6), while Mixed-race individuals exhibited slightly increased odds (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.14-1.29). The findings revealed notable variability in GDM risk factors across ANHOPI subgroups. Obesity emerged as a consistent and strong predictor of GDM across all groups, while other factors such as interpersonal violence exposure and prenatal depression demonstrated limited or subgroup specific effects.

Conclusion:

This analysis of 2016 to 2022 PRAMS data illustrated significant variations of GDM predictors between the general population and the Asian and NHOPI population, as well as differences between Asian and NHOPI ethnicities.