Oakland, CA — Kaiser Permanente researchers studying 267,000 women of
various ethnic groups have found that the incidence of gestational
diabetes mellitus (GDM) increased 35% from 1991 to 2000. The study
appears in the Feb. 27 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. GDM appears
in pregnant women, particularly those who are overweight or obese or
members of certain races and ethnic groups. It can triple the risk that
their children will have diabetes, and increase the risk that their
daughters will have gestational diabetes as well. Children born to women
with GDM can be abnormally large, and require birth by Cesarean
section. (Press Release February 26, 2004)
“Children of women with gestational diabetes are also more likely to be
premature, to have hypoglycemia, or to have severe jaundice at birth,”
says lead author Dr. Assiamira Ferrara, of Kaiser Permanente’s Division
of Research in Oakland, California. “And the mothers who have GDM need
closer monitoring during their pregnancies to make sure no complications
threaten their health or the health of their children.”
Dr. Ferrara also found in her study that the incidence of the disease is
increasing more rapidly in younger women. 17,000 women with GDM were
studied in the northern California region of KP.
“What this means,” says Dr. Ferrara, “is that we need to work even
harder to ensure that every woman who is planning a pregnancy is at her
healthiest. While we didn’t track body mass in these women, it’s well
known that GDM is more likely to show up in a woman who is overweight or
obese. If we can help women keep their weight at healthy levels, and
control their glycemic levels, we may be able to stop what could
otherwise be a rapid increase in the incidence of diabetes in general.”
