A recent study published in Acta Diabetologica revealed the development of gestational diabetes in short-height women with normal BMI.

The study aimed to examine how short maternal height impacts gestational diabetes by different body mass index (BMI) classes.

Researchers performed a retrospective cohort study based on the population, which included individuals with singleton pregnancies delivering from January 1st, 2012, to December 31st, 2019. The study was conducted in the Eastern Health region of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Maternal height was divided into three groups: short height (< 25%), average height (25–75%), and tall height (> 75%). To determine whether short height is an independent predictor of gestational diabetes, researchers performed univariate and multivariate regression analyses.

Results showed that out of 15,803 pregnancies, 1062 (6.7%) experienced gestational diabetes. Short height was an independent predictor of gestational diabetes among all BMI categories. The stratified analysis confirmed that short height independently predicted gestational diabetes in normal BMI cohorts. However, in higher BMI classes, short height was not an independent predictor.