Screening for gestational diabetes: examining a breakfast meal test

Abstract

Objective: This study was performed to analyse the carbohydrate quantity of the non-standardised breakfast meal test consumed as part of a screening test for gestational diabetes. Design: A prospective descriptive design was utilised. Setting: Screening for gestational diabetes was performed in the High-Risk Antenatal Clinic at Tygerberg Academic Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Subjects: Fifty pregnant women who met the local selection criteria for diabetes screening. Outcome measures: The contents of the patient-provided breakfast meal tests were evaluated individually for total carbohydrate amount and compared with the 75 grams of carbohydrate provided by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Results: The median carbohydrate amount was 71 g but the range (55–145 g) was wide. Only seven meals (14%) fell within 10% of the 75 g carbohydrate target. Conclusion: The patient-provided breakfast meal showed wide variation in carbohydrate amount. If a meal test is to be used instead of the formal OGTT a carefully measured, prepared, palatable, readily available product would need to be sourced and provided. (Full text available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojcn) South Afr J Clin Nutr 2016; DOI: 10.1080/16070658.2016.1198614