# Diabetes testing after gestational diabetes Intervention · id `maternal:postpartum-diabetes-screening-after-gdm` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Postpartum Browse, care area: Recovery after birth ## In plain language A follow-up check after birth for type 2 diabetes in a woman who had gestational diabetes. A large 2020 review found that women who had gestational diabetes were much more likely than other women to develop type 2 diabetes. This page records that risk. It does not say which test to use or when. ## Technical summary The rationale recorded here is the 2020 BMJ meta-analysis of 20 observational studies: relative risk of type 2 diabetes 9.51 (95% CI 7.14 to 12.67) in women with previous gestational diabetes against controls, with cumulative incidence of 9.91%, 15.58% and 16.46% in the white, predominantly non-white and mixed-ethnicity subgroups and an authors' conclusion about the importance of intervening early after pregnancy. No guideline recommendation on the test, its timing or its method, and no trial of testing, was read, so this record states none. It is filed as a test, as the closest subtype, and links to gestational diabetes and to the core diabetes record. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Women with a history of gestational diabetes and healthy controls, 2020 meta-analysis of 20 studies Recipient: Maternal; Population: Women with a history of gestational diabetes (67,956 women) and controls (1,264,417), in 20 observational studies with a group of women with gestational diabetes and a control group, postpartum follow-up of at least 12 months, and an incident physician-based diagnosis of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes had to be reported as its own outcome, not combined with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance.; Care setting: Not stated in the PubMed abstract; Geography: Not stated in the PubMed abstract (studies published in English, conducted on humans); Life stage: After the pregnancy with gestational diabetes, with follow-up of at least 12 months; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: At least 12 months after birth; the abstract gives no single follow-up time for the pooled figures ### A 2020 BMJ systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 observational studies (1 332 373 individuals: 67 956 women with gestational diabetes and 1 264 417 controls) found that the overall relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 9.51 (95% confidence interval 7.14 to 12.67, P<0.001) in women with previous gestational diabetes compared with healthy controls. Among populations of women with previous gestational diabetes, cumulative incidence of type 2 diabetes was 9.91% (95% CI 9.39% to 10.42%) in a white population, 15.58% (13.30% to 17.86%) in a predominantly non-white population and 16.46% (16.16% to 16.77%) in populations of mixed ethnicity; the differences between these subgroups were not statistically significant. The authors conclude that women with a history of gestational diabetes appear to have a nearly 10-fold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with a normoglycaemic pregnancy. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Evidence synthesis - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Maternal; Population: Women with a history of gestational diabetes (67,956 women) and controls (1,264,417), in 20 observational studies with a group of women with gestational diabetes and a control group, postpartum follow-up of at least 12 months, and an incident physician-based diagnosis of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes had to be reported as its own outcome, not combined with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance.; Care setting: Not stated in the PubMed abstract; Geography: Not stated in the PubMed abstract (studies published in English, conducted on humans); Life stage: After the pregnancy with gestational diabetes, with follow-up of at least 12 months; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: At least 12 months after birth; the abstract gives no single follow-up time for the pooled figures - Limitations: These are results from observational studies. The abstract gives no single follow-up time for the cumulative incidence figures; included studies had to follow women for at least 12 months after birth. The paper reports the risk of progression, not whether testing after gestational diabetes changes outcomes, and no trial or guideline on testing was read for this record. Only the PubMed abstract was read; the PMC copy is under a non-commercial licence and was not used. - Last checked: 2026-10-15 - Sources: 1. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract of the BMJ 2020 meta-analysis. 2. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 6, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 3. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 6, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 4. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 7, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 5. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 7, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 6. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 8. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 7. Supports: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, CONCLUSIONS, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 8. Background: Progression to type 2 diabetes in women with a known history of gestational diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-15. The full text and the version of record were not read. The PMC copy (PMC7218708) is under a non-commercial licence and was not used.) Locator: Abstract, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES, sentence 2, fragment 1 of 3. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:16Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 9b96b1be1072dc860f9dd8c3ee248c4a71c5fc56eaed031e2d326bda31789900. How it applies: Inclusion criteria. ## Connected pages - Follow-up after gestational diabetes (no guideline recommendation read): Gestational diabetes (`maternal:gestational-diabetes`) - The condition that follows gestational diabetes in some women (core record): Diabetes mellitus (`core:diabetes-mellitus`) - Filed under this front: Screening and tests (`maternal:front-screening-and-tests`) ## Provenance Content hash: 59896eba048a92a8e4040c3b65b62f221d1b99f970ff381436fcd844893735e2 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-15 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-15