Gestational Diabetes Risk Can Be Predicted 7 Years Before Pregnancy
According to a study, a woman's gestational diabetes risk can be identified up to seven years before she becomes pregnant based on routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight.
Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., studied 580 ethnically diverse women who took part in a multiphasic health checkup at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between1984 and 1996. The researchers looked at women who had a subsequent pregnancy and compared those who developed gestational diabetes mellitus during pregnancy to women who did not have gestational diabetes.
The study found that gestational diabetes risk increased directly with the number of adverse risk factors commonly associated with diabetes and heart disease (high blood sugar, hypertension and being overweight) present before pregnancy. In addition, the authors found that adverse levels of blood sugar and body weight were associated with a 4.6-fold increased gestational diabetes risk, compared to women with normal levels.
The study is among the first to look at routinely measured cardio-metabolic risk factors before pregnancy in women who later became pregnant and developed gestational diabetes. The research provides evidence to support pre-conception care for healthy pregnancies as noted in a 2006 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That report suggested that risk factors for adverse outcomes among women and infants can be identified prior to conception and are characterized by the need to start, and sometimes finish, interventions before conception occurs.
Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., studied 580 ethnically diverse women who took part in a multiphasic health checkup at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between1984 and 1996. The researchers looked at women who had a subsequent pregnancy and compared those who developed gestational diabetes mellitus during pregnancy to women who did not have gestational diabetes.
The study found that gestational diabetes risk increased directly with the number of adverse risk factors commonly associated with diabetes and heart disease (high blood sugar, hypertension and being overweight) present before pregnancy. In addition, the authors found that adverse levels of blood sugar and body weight were associated with a 4.6-fold increased gestational diabetes risk, compared to women with normal levels.
The study is among the first to look at routinely measured cardio-metabolic risk factors before pregnancy in women who later became pregnant and developed gestational diabetes. The research provides evidence to support pre-conception care for healthy pregnancies as noted in a 2006 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That report suggested that risk factors for adverse outcomes among women and infants can be identified prior to conception and are characterized by the need to start, and sometimes finish, interventions before conception occurs.
