Dr Gupta et al rightly point out that screening for and treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) ideally serves 2 purposes: (1) short-term maternal and perinatal outcome and (2) long-term outcome. In their letter they concentrate on long-term maternal outcome: identification of minor degrees of glucose intolerance during pregnancy, using strict glucose threshold values, may identify an additional group of women destined to develop type-2 diabetes later in life. This is especially important in a country like India, with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes occurring rather early in life. We agree with their reasoning. However, when using very strict criteria, many of these women will unnecessarily be labeled and stigmatized as being at high risk for later diabetes.
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