Objective To determine the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in a cohort of indigenous South Asian women with a recent history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Design Case–control study. Setting Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sample Two hundred and seventy-four indigenous Sri Lankan women with previous GDM and 168 ethnically matched controls. Of these, 147 with previous GDM and 67 controls not taking hormonal contraception participated in an in-depth endocrine study. Methods Assessing the prevalence of MS and PCOS based on clinical features, biochemistry and ovarian ultrasound examination at 3 years postpartum. Main outcome measures Prevalence of MS and PCOS. Results Women with previous GDM and controls were studied at a mean (range) of 34.6 (13.4–84.1) and 46.5 (17.5–78) months postpartum …more