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Objective: To determine possible differences in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in the Saskatoon Health District.Research Design and Methods: This was a prospective survey of all women admitted for childbirth to the Saskatoon Royal University Hospital between January and July 1998. We compared prevalence rates, risk factors, and outcomes of GDM between aboriginal and non-aboriginal women.Results: Information was obtained from 2,006 women, of whom 252 aboriginal and 1,360 non-aboriginal subjects had been tested for GDM. The overall rates of GDM were 3.5% for women in the general population and 11.5% for aboriginal women. For those living within the Saskatoon Health District, GDM rates were 3.7 and 6.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that aboriginal ethnicity, most notably when combined with obesity, was an independent predictor for GDM. Pregravid BMI > or = 27 kg/m(2) and maternal age > or = 33 years were the most important risk factors for GDM in aboriginal women, whereas previous GDM, family history of diabetes, and maternal age > or = 38 years were the strongest predictors for GDM in non-aboriginal women.Conclusions: There may be fundamental differences in GDM between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. Because GDM contributes to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes in aboriginal women and their offspring, the impact of prevention and optimal treatment of GDM on the type 2 diabetes epidemic in susceptible populations are important areas for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Diabetic First Nations people (FN) have higher ESRD rates than other Canadians but the reasons remain unclear. We sought to better understand this disparity by comparing demographic, laboratory and survival features of diabetic FN and other Saskatchewan residents (OSK) by renal function stage. Methods: Prevalent diabetes cases in 2005/06 were identi"ed in Saskatchewan’s two largest health regions using administrative databases, and linked with centralized laboratory tests. #ey were sub-divided into "ve stages of renal function using estimated glomerular "ltration rates (eGFR) that were determined in 992 of 2,321 FN (42.7%) and 14,054 of 21,886 OSK (64.2%). Age, sex, urine microalbumin (MA), glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and two year mortality risk was compared for all subjects. Results: Diabetic FN were younger (mean age 52.7 vs. 64.2, p<0.0001), more likely to be female (59.6% vs.45.4%, p<0.001), had increased MA (56.6% vs. 48.4%, p<0.0001) and displayed higher mean A1C levels (8.16% vs.7.36%, p<0.0001) than OSK. Despite a larger proportion having eGFR’s >60 ml/min (87.0% vs.77.3%, p<0.001), FN were also more likely to have ESRD (2.3% vs.0.8%, p<0.001). Although FN with eGFR’s >30 ml/min experienced higher age/sex adjusted mortality risk than OSK, the trends for both adjusted and unadjusted mortality risks for those with advanced pre-ESRD renal failure were lower for FN than for OSK. Conclusions: Elevated rates of ESRD experienced by FN with diabetes are related to poorer glycemic control at all levels of renal function, and lower age-related mortality at advanced stages of chronic kidney disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]