Issue 165 Item 8 Women With Impaired Glucose Tolerance Increase Their Risk of Mo

Increased risks are associated with pregnancies among women with untreated impaired glucose tolerance.

These risks include high rates of cesarean section and delivery of preterm and macrosomic infants.

Dr. Ingrid Ostlund, of Orebro University Hospital, Sweden, and colleagues prospectively evaluated the association between increased maternal or neonatal morbidity and untreated impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy. They collected data on maternal and fetal outcomes for 213 women with this condition. Four control subjects per case subject were used for comparison.
Case subjects had a significantly higher rate of cesarean section than did control subjects, and an independent association was observed between cesarean section and impaired glucose tolerance (adjusted odds ratio 1.9).

Similarly, the proportion of large for gestational age infants was significantly associated with untreated impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy (odds ratio 7.3), according to the researchers. Children in the impaired glucose tolerance group also had a significantly higher risk of admission to a neonatal intensive care unit for at least 2 days (adjusted odds ratio 2.0).

The authors note that "Most of the children were healthy, but there is still increased morbidity." Diabetes Care 2003; 26:2107-2111.

===============================

FACT: America’s blood pressure is rising, reversing a 30-year decline and keeping pace with the nation’s advancing age and expanding waistline, says a study out today. The analysis found about 29% of the adult population — nearly 60 million people — had high blood pressure in 2000, up from 25% in 1988.