Puerto Real University Hospital, through its Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, in collaboration with the Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, has developed a predictive model using an app that calculates the risk of developing gestational diabetes, which is the most common endocrine disorder during pregnancy.

Andalusia has a program to detect gestational diabetes in pregnant women; specifically, universal screening is performed using the so-called O’Sullivan test, which is a glucose tolerance test involving a 50-gram glucose load. If the O’Sullivan test is positive, a complete glucose tolerance test must be performed, involving a 100-gram glucose load and blood glucose measurements taken while fasting, as well as one hour, two hours, and three hours after consuming the glucose.

The significant progress made in recent years thanks to Big Data—which encompasses a series of techniques that seek to mathematically model information to obtain a result—has enabled the INiBICA research group from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in collaboration with the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, both based at the Portorreal center, to develop a predictive model that, using simple variables available during the first trimester of pregnancy, makes it possible to determine the probability that a woman will develop diabetes during pregnancy.

The model is now available for professional use (it is intended for specialists in gynecology, endocrinology, primary care, midwives, etc.) as a mobile app and can be downloaded for free for both Android and iOS from the App Store under the name DIAGESTACIONAL.

According to Juan Jesús Fernández, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, the results obtained in the cross-validation of the calculator are very promising, and if these results are confirmed in external validation, the algorithm developed could help determine in the future which patients should undergo a glucose tolerance test and which should not.

🔗 More information: Diario de Cádiz