Indicator 4.1 Proportion of pregnant women being tested for gestational diabetes
Considerations
There are currently no accessible, national data that directly provide a measure of the proportion of pregnant women who are tested for gestational diabetes, as births and testing data are not linked. The use of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data and birth records data provide a proxy measure for this indicator.
Overview
Of women who gave birth in 2018, it was estimated that 61% were tested for gestational diabetes during their pregnancy (Figure 4.1.1).
Trends
The proportion of women giving birth who were tested for gestational diabetes has increased gradually each year from 55% in 2014 (Figure 4.1.1).
Age
The proportion of mothers tested for gestational diabetes increased with maternal age from 52% of those aged 20 and under to between 61–63% from age 25 and over (Figure 4.1.2).
About the data
The estimated rate of testing reported here is a proxy measure based on Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data for the number of tests for gestational diabetes in a given year, divided by the number of women giving birth in that year, which were obtained from the National Perinatal Data Collection. Additional work is required to provide a more reliable measure that captures testing among pregnant women and can be used to assess progress against this indicator.
Explore the data
4.1: Proportion of pregnant women being tested for gestational diabetes, by age group, 2014 to 2018