New Gestational Diabetes Guidelines Find More Women at Risk

The findings, released last week, were based on a study that included more than 23,000 women in nine countries. Researchers discovered that a fasting blood sugar level of 92 or higher, a one-hour level of 180 or higher on a glucose tolerance test or a two-hour level of 153 or higher on a glucose tolerance test may present grave risks to both mother and child. Before, these numbers were believed to be in the normal range.

If healthcare providers go by these levels, far more pregnant women could be diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Dr. Boyd Metzger of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and lead author, says that, "This study says these risks to pregnancy are like many things we deal with in medicine.... The risk of having a stroke doesn't begin when your blood pressure is 140 over 80. That's when we say you have hypertension, but that's not where the risk begins to affect your health. That starts sooner. A similar situation is how your cholesterol level relates to the risk of having heart disease. It doesn't begin at 200. That's where it reaches the threshold where common treatments can reduce the risks."

Researchers are finding more about what may trigger gestational diabetes. A study published last week in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that women who gain weight in the first trimester of pregnancy were at a higher risk for gestational diabetes than women who did not, and obese women who gained weight during that period were especially at risk.

Diabetes Care, March 2010