Upper airway Obstruction in pregnancy : Does gestational diabetes has an influence ?

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Physiologic changes during pregnancy have implications for both upper and lower airway function. Upper airway resistance increases, and total lung capacity decrease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of upper airway obstruction (UAO) in pregnant Tunisian women and to asses whether the gestational diabetes (DG) is a determinant factor for UAO. <bold>Methods:</bold> This was a cross sectional study, involving pregnant women. All participants have performed a whole body plethysmography and an oral glucose tolerance test at the functional exploration department of Habib Bourguiba hospital of Sfax. The variable UAO was defined retained basing on if ratio of forced expiratory flow at 50 percent of the vital capacity to the FIF50% (FEF50%/FIF50%) ≥ 1. We divided our population into two groups G1 with UAO and G2 without UAO. For statistical purpose, we have used the SPSS 20. A p< 0.05 was significant. <bold>Results:</bold> 44 (G1=30, vs G2= 14) patients were enrolled in this study with a mean age (years) respectively 28,22± 4,86 and 30,39± 4,20 (p> 0,05). Among G1, 59,3 % have DG while 72,7 % of G2 have DG (p> 0,05). There was no significant correlation between the FEF50%/FIF50% and the glycemic values. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> UAO is not rare in pregnancy but DG isn’t a determinant factor.