According to new research, women who endured multiple miscarriages are predisposed to develop type two diabetes in the future. Women who experienced one pregnancy loss were found to be 18 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who had healthy pregnancies and later on gave birth.
Moreover, the study's findings revealed that two miscarriages were linked to a 38 percent higher risk, while three miscarriages increased the chances by 71 percent.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 24,700 Danish women born between 1957 and 1997. Furthermore, the participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 1977 and 2017. They also studied 247,740 women without diabetes to form the control group.
Dr. Pia Egerup, the study's leader from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, says that the results obtained point to a higher risk for type 2 diabetes in women with pregnancy losses cannot be justified by obesity alone.
She adds that perhaps the same genetic background could predispose women to an increased risk for both. Egerup said that it is possible that miscarriages could initiate an immunological descend that also could lead to later type 2 diabetes.
She also speculates the possibility of prediabetic metabolic conditions existent before diabetes diagnosis as influencing the link between the two factors. The findings of their study were published in the journal Diabetologia.
Why do Miscarriages Happen?
The American Pregnancy Association says that a pregnancy that ends on its own within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is called a miscarriage. Studies expose that ten to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage.
According to Kids Health, miscarriage, in most cases, cannot be prevented since it is most likely the result of a chromosomal abnormality or problem with the fetus's development. Still, experts say that certain factors such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and a miscarriage history put a woman at a higher risk of losing her baby.
Although miscarriages cannot be prevented in most cases, health care providers recommend pregnant women to take extra care and practice a healthy lifestyle throughout their pregnancy duration.
Women and Diabetes
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes can increase the risk of heart disease by four times in women but only two times in men. Additionally, women have worse outcomes after episodes of a heart attack. Moreover, women are also more predisposed to developing other diabetes-related complications such as renal disease, blindness, and depression.
During pregnancy, women can also develop a condition called gestational diabetes, where high levels of sugar appear in the blood even though they initially don't have diabetes. The CDC says that it affects two to ten percent of pregnancies yearly in the United States.
Although any pregnant woman can develop gestational diabetes, experts say that obese women, expectant mothers over the age of 25, and those that have a history of type two diabetes in the family are considered to be at a higher risk for the condition.
