Establishing consensus criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy following the HAPO study

The current diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus are controversial because they lack correlation to maternal and perinatal outcome. The results of the hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcome (HAPO) study demonstrate a linear association between increasing levels of fasting, 1- and 2-h plasma glucose post a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test to several significant outcome endpoints, such as birth weight above the 90th percentile, cord blood serum C-peptide level above the 90th percentile, primary cesarean delivery, clinical neonatal hypoglycemia, premature delivery, shoulder dystocia or birth injury, intensive neonatal care admission, hyperbilirubinemia, and preeclampsia. A consensus report by the IADPSG, based on a vigorous assessment of the HAPO results and other studies, recommended an endorsement of risk-based, internationally accepted criteria for the diagnosis and classification of diabetes in pregnancy. This review follows the steps from defining the problem to the endpoint of achieving a worldwide policy change.