Karoline Beate Kragelund Nielsen - Ethnicity, migration, socio-economic position and gestational diabetes mellitus

Studies suggest differences in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence among different ethnic groups, with Caucasians generally having the lowest risk. Furthermore, studies from high income countries generally report an inverse relationship between GDM risk and socio-economic position.

However, how ethnic differences in GDM risk may depend on country of birth and may interact with socio-economic position and body mass index (BMI) remains unclear. Justification for focusing on ethnicity both in terms of studying those born in and outside Denmark and the interaction with socio-economic gradients is linked to the studies and hypotheses focusing on intergenerational transmission of risk and the importance of early life exposures, but there is currently a lack of knowledge about the role of migration and socio-economic gradients over the life course and across generations in development of GDM. This thwarts efforts for prevention of GDM and associated short- and long-term adverse outcomes.

The purpose of this 1 year fellowship is to investigate ethnic/migration differences in development of GDM, and the interaction with BMI and socio-economic position. To make these investigations, I will use the Danish Child Health and Social Equity (DanCHASE) Cohort established by Prof. Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen in Statistics Denmark. The cohort is based on data from the Danish Medical Birth Register, the Abortion register and the National Patient Register as well as a variety of social registers from Statistics Denmark and represents a unique opportunity to investigate the early and later exposures potentially related to GDM.