Low 1-Hour Glucose Screens and Small for Gestational Age Infants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To determine whether a 1-hour glucose screen done at 26 to 29 weeks’ gestation that is below the fifth percentile is predictive of having a small for gestational age (SGA) infant.

STUDY DESIGN:

Pregnancies with 1-hour glucose screens were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 600 cases had values below the fifth percentile (<71 mg/dl). A total of 6784 controls had values between the 25th and 75th percentiles. Infants were classified as being SGA if they had birth weights less than the 10th percentile adjusted for gestational age and infant gender. The Student’s t-test, Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS:

The incidence of SGA infants differed significantly between cases and controls, 16.2% versus 12.0% (p = 0.0043). This association remained significant after adjustment for race (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION: A 1-hour glucose screen with a result that is less than the fifth percentile is an independent risk factor for having an SGA infant.