Overview
- Incidence rose every year from 2016 to 2024, reaching 79 cases per 1,000 first singleton births for a total increase of 36%.
- The peer-reviewed analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine used National Center for Health Statistics birth certificates covering more than 12 million first-time single-baby births.
- Rates increased across all racial and ethnic groups, with 2024 levels highest for American Indian/Alaska Native (137 per 1,000), Asian (131), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (126) mothers.
- On U.S. birth certificates, gestational diabetes is typically recorded when treatment was required during pregnancy, which influences how cases are captured.
- The condition raises immediate pregnancy risks and long-term diabetes and cardiovascular risk, and the authors call for targeted public-health and policy interventions alongside research into subgroup differences and disparities.