Gestational Diabetes Linked to Chronic Cardiovascular Outcome Later in Life

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition that some women may experience during pregnancy. A team of researchers suggests that it is associated with long-term cardiovascular outcomes, such as plaque accumulation in arteries, even after a decade of delivering their babies.

The difference between GDM and type 1 diabetes is that the former is not caused by a lack of insulin. Rather, some hormones produced during pregnancy can cause insulin resistance or the condition in which the insulin becomes less effective.

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Gestational Diabetes Linked to Chronic Cardiovascular Outcome Later in Life

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) Explained

When the hormone produced by the placenta prevents the body from effectively using insulin, it leads to GDM because glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by cells.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, approximately 3% to 8% of all pregnant women in the US get diagnosed with the condition.

Doctors have not yet pinpointed the exact cause of this condition but there are several theories that might explain it. One of these theories is that some hormones produced by the placenta may have a contra-insulin effect that usually begins at the 20th to 24th week of pregnancy. When the production of insulin is insufficient to overcome this effect, gestational diabetes results.

Pregnant women who are at risk of developing GDM are those overweight or obese, with a family history of diabetes, having given birth previously to an infant weighing over 9 pounds, women who are older than 25 years old, race, and those with prediabetes condition.

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GDM Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Conditions Years After Pregnancy

Researchers from the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea examined women with a history of GDM, including 219,330 women with at least one live birth, to see the effects of GDM on them years after they gave birth.

According to HealthDay News, researchers found that these women had an increased risk for total cardiovascular outcomes. They specifically identified an increased risk for the new occurrence of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, mitral regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation/flutter.

Furthermore, the team found that subsequent diabetes is linked to GDM and cardiovascular outcome by around 23%, while hypertension has an 11% link and dyslipidemia at 10% association of the two conditions.

Seung Mi Lee, M.D., lead author of the study, said that the findings of their research showed the extent of cardiovascular diseases that can arise from GDM years after giving birth. They are now planning for their next step, which is to identify the kind of preventive measures they can take during pregnancy to prevent women from developing cardiovascular disease later in life.

GDM Pre-Pregnancy Prevention

The likelihood of having GDM depends on the risk factors present before pregnancy. But Everyday Health reported that these risk factors can be managed to avoid this condition.

A 2020 study published in Diabetes Care found that women who developed gestational diabetes had annual increases of blood sugar that are twice as high as other women. Endocrinologist Dr. Ravi Retnakaran from the University of Toronto said that women can lower their risk of GDM and cardiovascular disease by maintaining a healthy weight before getting pregnant.

Dr. Tracy Wang, a professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, added that keeping a healthy weight, low blood pressure, and cholesterol levels can help reduce the risk of developing gestational diabetes.