Gestational Diabetes Raises Heart Disease Risk

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Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in young women following gestational diabetes mellitus, by Baiju R. Shah and colleagues. Diabetes Care 31:1668-1669, 2008

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects 2 to 4 percent of pregnant women and can have harmful effects for both women and their fetuses. Twenty to sixty percent of women who have GDM develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years of their pregnancy. Women who have had GDM are also at higher risk for other heart and blood vessel disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, metabolic syndrome, and clogged blood vessels. This suggests that women who have GDM may be at a higher risk for developing heart and blood vessel disease.

Why did researchers do this particular study?

The researchers wanted to find out whether women who have GDM have a higher risk of developing heart and blood vessel disease and whether this risk is linked to or separate from their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Who was studied?

The study included women aged 20 to 49 years who had live births between April 1994 and March 1997 in Ontario, Canada, and who did not already have diabetes or heart disease. Each woman with GDM was compared to 10 women without GDM and followed until March 2007 to find out whether they developed diabetes or heart or blood vessel disease.

How was the study done?

The researchers identified women from Ontario’s medical databases and also relied on these databases for follow-up information about whether the women were later hospitalized for heart and blood vessel disease events or were diagnosed with diabetes. Results from women with GDM and those without GDM were analyzed and compared statistically.

What did the researchers find?

Women who had GDM had a higher risk of developing heart or blood vessel disease than those without GDM. However, much of their increased risk was caused by their later development of type 2 diabetes.

What are the implications of the study?

This study shows the need for diabetes prevention efforts for women with GDM, who are a particularly high-risk group for both diabetes and heart and blood vessel disease.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Gestational diabetes

Gestational Diabetes: What To Expect, 5th Edition

Preventing heart disease