Gestational diabetes raises future diabetes risk

	Tweet

Gestational diabetes mellitus appears to increase the risk of developing diabetes later in life, Finnish investigators report in Diabetes Care.

Dr. Juha S. Tapanainen, of Oulu University Hospital, Finland, and colleagues followed 435 women with gestational diabetes and 435 healthy women (controls) for about six years.

A total of 20 women (4.6 percent) in the gestational diabetes group developed type 1 diabetes and 23 women (5.3 percent) developed type 2 diabetes. None of the control subjects became diabetic.

One hundred fifty-five women (35.6 percent) with gestational diabetes were treated with insulin during pregnancy. Of the 20 women with gestational diabetes who developed type 1 diabetes, 18 (90 percent) had received insulin therapy, and so did 18 of the 23 women (78.3 percent) who developed type 2 diabetes.

Overall, 62.5 percent of women who developed type 1 diabetes tested positive for islet cell antibodies. Only two women who later developed type 2 diabetes tested positive for autoantibodies.

The results of further analysis revealed that women younger than 30 years old who required insulin treatment for gestational diabetes and those who tested positive for autoantibodies had an increased risk of type 1 diabetes.

These women require careful follow-up after pregnancy because an earlier type 1 diabetes diagnosis is associated with a preserved ability to produce insulin and a lower risk of complications of the circulatory system, Dr. Tapanainen’s team advises.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, March 2006.

RELATED STORIES:
Phone contact with nurses linked with better outcomes for women with gestational diabetes   Death rate drops among Americans with diabetes -CDC   Correct treatment of common diabetic foot infections can reduce amputations   “Pre-diabetes,” diabetes rising among U.S. teens   Experimental bariatric surgery controls blood sugar in rats with diabetes   53 millions Americans might develop diabetes by 2025   New inflammation hormone link may pave way to study new drugs for type 2 diabetes   Diabetic retinopathy research could reduce screening costs   Liver fat gets a wake-up call that maintains blood sugar levels   Low testosterone levels could raise diabetes risk for men   Prosthetic lets diabetic get a foot up on life   Dealing with Diabetes, One Patient at a Time

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]