OAKLAND, Calif., Apr 28, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers say the
number of women who develop diabetes before motherhood has more than doubled in
six years.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, said the health risks of
having diabetes before becoming pregnant are greater to mother and baby than
gestational diabetes, which occurs when pregnancy triggers insulin resistance,
Kaiser Permanente said Sunday in a news release. The report said women with
pre-existing diabetes are more likely to have miscarriages, stillbirths and
babies with birth defects.
Kaiser Permanente researchers looked at 175,249 women who gave birth in 11
Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California between 1999 and 2005.
Researchers found there were twice as many births to women with diabetes in 2005
as there were in 1999.
"More young women are entering their reproductive years with diabetes, in part
due to the fact that our society has become more overweight and obese," lead
author Jean M. Lawrence said. "While we currently don't know how to prevent type
1 diabetes, the steps to reducing risk of type 2 diabetes must start before
childbearing years: healthy eating, active living and maintaining a healthy
weight."
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International