Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objectives: It seems that increased serum ferritin is a potential risk factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). This study aimed to study serum ferritin levels among GDM and non-GDM women referred to the Niknafs hospital in Rafsanjan, in 2015.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 GDM and 40 non-GDM women were selected using simple non-probability sampling. Their demographic and clinical data including pre-pregnancy BMI, hemoglobin, fasting blood sugar and iron supplementation intake were recorded from their health dossier. Pre-operation weight was measured and weight gain during pregnancy was calculated. Fasting blood samples were collected and examined for the measurement of glucose, serum ferritin and haemoglobin. All data were analyzed using t-test and chi-square.

Results: Findings showed that there was a statistical significant difference between the means of pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age at delivery between the two groups (p<0.05). Although the difference between ferritin levels in two groups (GDM vs. non-GDM women was not statistically significant (P=0.729), but 95% of non-GDM women and only 75% of GDM women had normal ferritin levels i.e. 10-60 ng/dl (P=0.043). 70.6% of obese women were diagnosied GDM; while among the women with normal weight, 29.6 % suffered from GDM (P=0.02).

Conclusion: This study showed that the serum ferritin level in the GDM women was haigher than their non-GDM counterparts, and obese pregnant women were affected more with GDM. It seems that an increase in serum ferritin in GDM women is more a sign of inflammation rather than an increase in the iron storage, since the iron intake in two groups has been equal.

Key words: Serum Ferritin, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Rafsanjan

Funding: This research was funded by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

How to cite this article: Salem Z, Aminzadeh F, Asadollahi Z. Study of Serum Ferritin Levels among Gdm and non Gdm Pregnant Women Referred to Niknafs Hospital for Cesarean Section in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (2015). J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2016; 15(5): 413-24. [Farsi]