Gestational diabetes found to increase risk of adult-onset diabetes

Gestational diabetes increases the risk of adult-onset diabetes Keystone-SDA

A research team from the Lake Geneva region has identified persistent dysfunctions in glucose regulation in women with gestational diabetes. In the long term, this can increase the risk of adult-onset diabetes by up to ten times.

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The risk of cardiometabolic diseases also increases, said Tinh Hai Collet, assistant professor at the Faculty Diabetes Centre at the University of Geneva. The Geneva researchers, in collaboration with the University Hospitals of Lausanne and Geneva, the University of Lausanne and the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), used wearable devices to measure glucose dynamics, physical activity and heart rate.

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The study compared 22 women with gestational diabetes and 15 women with normal glucose metabolism during pregnancy. The results, published in the specialist journal Diabetologia, show that the affected women continue to have impaired blood glucose regulation even after giving birth, although the usual clinical data is comparable with normal values.

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The study shows that women suffering from gestational diabetes have a higher body weight. In addition, it took longer for blood glucose levels to return to normal after meals, even if they consumed fewer carbohydrates.

Their daily blood sugar rhythm is also disturbed, indicating a disruption of their internal clocks or circadian rhythms. Monitoring blood glucose variability in the postpartum period would make it possible to identify women at increased risk, the authors said. Worldwide, around 14% of pregnant women are affected by gestational diabetes, in Switzerland the figure is 10%.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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