Gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes among Emirati and Arab women in the United Arab Emirates: results from the MISC cohort

Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of pregnant women participating in this study (n = 256)

	Total^a
Mother’s Age (years)	30.5 ± 6.0
18–24.9	57 (22.3)
25–29.9	62 (24.2)
≥ 30	137 (53.5)
Nationality
Emirati	105 (41.0)
Arab^b	151 (59.0)
Education
Intermediate or less	35 (13.7)
High School/ Technical Diploma	140 (54.7)
University	81 (31.6)
Employment Status
Employee	45 (17.6)
Housewife	211 (82.4)
Family Monthly Income (AED)
< 5000	18 (9.3)
5000-10,000	72 (37.3)
> 10,000	103 (53.4)
Parity
Primiparous	60 (23.4)
Multiparous	196 (76.6)
Physical Activity (METs)
Low-Intensity Activity	166 (64.8)
Moderate / High-Intensity Activity	90 (35.2)
Daily Breakfast Consumption
No	77 (30.1)
Yes	179 (69.9)
Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m²)^c	27.3 ± 6.2
BMI < 25	104 (40.6)
BMI ≥ 25	152 (59.4)
Gestational weight gain (GWG)^d
Insufficient	81 (31.6)
Adequate	74 (28.9)
Excessive	101 (39.5)
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)
No	207 (80.9)
Yes	49 (19.1)

^aValues in the table are presented as n(%) for categorical variables and mean (SD) for continuous variables
^bit includes mothers of different Arab Nationalities such as: Syrian, Jordanian, Sudanese, Palestinian, Lebanese, and Algerians etc. …
^cAccording to WHO classification 2007; ^d According to IOM classification 2009

ISSN: 1471-2393