Gestational diabetes poses extra risk later on for black women
Having diabetes during pregnancy raises the odds of having diabetes later in life, studies have repeatedly shown. But new research on ethnic variations finds the connection is especially true for African American women.
A study of more than 77,000 women from researchers at Kaiser Permanente showed that black women -- although they are less likely to develop gestational diabetes than women in other racial and ethnic groups -- have a much higher risk of having the disease later in life if they experienced the condition during pregnancy. Black women with gestational diabetes were 52% more likely to develop diabetes later compared with white women.
Women of all racial groups with the disorder should be followed closely after pregnancy, the lead author of the study, Anny H. Xiang, a senior research scientist at Kaiser’s Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena, said in a news release.
“All women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus should be screened for diabetes soon after their delivery and subsequently at regular intervals,” she said. “These women would benefit from lifestyle changes such as changes in diet and increases in physical activity that can reduce diabetes risk.”
The study was published online Thursday in the journal Diabetologia.
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