Link between Gestational and Type 2 Diabetes Investigated

Researchers Investigate Link between Gestational and Type 2 Diabetes

July 31, 2008 – Women who had been previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which accounts for approximately 4% of all pregnancies, were found to have an increased risk in developing type 2 diabetes, researchers assert.

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed exclusively in pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks into pregnancy. Hormone fluctuations responding to the pregnancy cause a condition known as insulin resistance to occur. Insulin resistance inhibits the pancreatic hormone insulin from breaking down glucose in the blood thus causing blood sugar to reach unhealthy levels and potentially create adverse health consequences for both the mother and her child.

Researchers at the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the University of Toronto collectively conducted a study to determine if any link existed between gestational diabetes and the onset of type 2 diabetes later in life. The study evaluated 659,164 women who were not diagnosed with diabetes. The researchers determined that of those women 21,823 developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Subsequently, the researchers tracked those women for almost a decade in order to determine if an increased probability of developing type 2 diabetes existed. The study determined that women previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes were 20% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women that did not develop the disease during pregnancy. Researchers also concluded that gestational diabetes was more prevalent among older women, and those who lived in urban or low-income areas.

Please keep in mind that this article on Gestational and Type 2 Diabetes is intended solely as an informational document; consult a licensed physician before making any decisions regarding the management of individual cases of diabetes.

Source:

CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/07/28/gestational-diabetes.html

Diabetic Seniors Team

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