Gestational diabetes ups cardiovascular risk
Gestational diabetes ups cardiovascular risk
Last Updated: 2008-08-13 16:43:59 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young women who develop diabetes mellitus during pregnancy, also referred to as gestational diabetes, have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, compared with women without gestational diabetes, according to the results of a Canadian study published in the journal Diabetes Care.
"Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common condition affecting 2 to 4 percent of pregnant women," write Dr. Baiju Shah, of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences,Toronto, and colleagues. Many of these women return to normal blood glucose levels after the pregnancy, but an increased risk persists.
In their study, the researchers assessed more than 350,000 women between the ages of 20 and 49 years who delivered an infant between April 1994 and March 1997 in Ontario.
Shah's group found that 2.3 percent had developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy. For the analysis, 8191 women with gestational diabetes were matched to 81,262 women without gestational diabetes. The women in both groups were an average of 31 years old and the average follow-up time was 11.5 years.
Overall, 2,214 (27.0 percent) of the women with gestational diabetes and 2,596 (3.2 percent) of women without gestational diabetes when on to develop diabetes during the follow-up period.
Women with a history of gestational diabetes had a 71-percent increased risk of having a cardiovascular disease event following pregnancy. However, when those who did not develop diabetes after pregnancy were considered, the risk declined to 13 percent.
"In summary, women with gestational diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease events compared with women without gestational diabetes mellitus." However, most of the risk is "attributable to the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes," Shah and colleagues conclude.
"As diabetes prevention interventions in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus have also been shown to slow progression of atherosclerosis, this study highlights the importance of diabetes prevention for this high-risk population."
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, August 2008.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/08/13/eline/links/20080813elin030.html
Great Topic. About 5 percent of most pregnant women develop this kind of disease during pregnancy. Usually Gestational diabetes develops at about 20 - 24 weeks, half through the span of your pregnancy, and is caused due to changes of hormones in your body during pre-natal period. Anyone, especially pregnant women may develop this type of diabetes during pregnancy caused by some factors such as obesity, history of diabetes, having too much amniotic fluid and etc. And women who are more than 25 years old have greater risk than the younger ones.
One way of preventing Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy is to exercise. Moderate exercise helps you control your appetite, keeping your weight at a normal level. Regular exercise is also important during pregnancy, not only that it will help you avoid such complications and disease such as these. It will also helps you alleviate the chances of having a normal delivery and a healthy baby.
Talk to your doctor about what exercise program do best for you. Much better if you purchase inexpensive home gym machines to avoid the hassle in of driving and traffic, and so that your family can guide and assist you while having your total body workout.
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