Gestational diabetes twice as serious as previously thought

According to diabetes research, over twice as many women as once thought develop diabetes during pregnancy. The study suggests that doctors should be extra vigilant to monitor for the condition, which is linked to a variety of complications and the increased likelihood of type 2 diabetes development.
The previous reported figure for gestational diabetes was between five and eight per cent of women. However, a recent international survey involving 23,000 women could put the figure as high as 16 per cent. Gestational diabetes increases risks of pre-eclampsia, a condition that can be fatal. The disease usually appears during the second half of pregnancy, and in many cases it disappears after labour.
The study was conducted at the Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr. Boyd Metzger was reported as saying: “As result of this study, more than 16 per cent of the entire population of pregnant women qualified as having gestational diabetes. Before, between 5 to 8 per cent of pregnant women were diagnosed with this. We shouldn’t be surprised. The fact that we have a lot of gestational diabetes to deal with is consistent with the major impact that diabetes and obesity are having in our population at large. How could we expect pregnancy to escape that?”