Issue 99 Item 2 Pregnant Women with Type 1 Diabetes Have Increased Risk for Seve

Severe Hypoglycemia can be a major problem for those with Type 1 diabetes and pregnant. A new study shows pregnant women with type 1 diabetes are at an increased risk for severe hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

Hypoglycemia is a less than-normal amount of sugar in the blood. Severe hypoglycemia can be harmful to a pregnant woman and may lead to loss of consciousness, seizures and even death. Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands investigated the frequency of severe hypoglycemia during the first three months of type 1 diabetic pregnancy and in the four months before pregnancy.

Researchers studied 278 pregnant type 1 diabetic women. They found a 16 percent increase in the number of severe hypoglycemic episodes from before the pregnancy to the first trimester. Specifically, the number of severe hypoglycemic occurrences rose from 0.9 episodes during the 4 months before the pregnancy to 2.6 episodes during the first part of the pregnancy.

Researchers found women were at an increases risk of suffering a hypoglycemic episode during pregnancy if they had episodes before their pregnancy, if they took higher doses of insulin, or if they had diabetes for 10 years or longer.

Researchers conclude the risk of severe hypoglycemia is already present in women before they get pregnant, but seems to increase during the first part of pregnancy. They say further research is needed to determine if strict glycemic control would have an impact on severe hypoglycemia early in pregnancy. Diabetes Care, 2002;25:554-559