Following a low risk lifestyle could dramatically cut the risk of developing a type of diabetes linked to pregnancy, researchers say today.
Women with healthy lifestyles halve their risk of developing the problem, according to the new study.
Diabetes which starts in pregnancy, or gestational diabetes, is a growing health concern that can cause both short and long-term health problems for mothers and their babies. It brings a raised risk of high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, and type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.
In order to assess the benefit of healthy lifestyle factors before pregnancy (healthy body weight, healthy diet, regular exercise, and not smoking), figures were taken on 20,136 live births in 14,437 women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study II between 1989 and 2001.
Dr Cuilin Zhang of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and colleagues compared the 823 gestational diabetes cases against this lifestyle information. "Each lifestyle factor measured was independently and significantly associated with risk of gestational diabetes," they report in The BMJ.
The strongest risk factor for gestational diabetes was having a body mass index (BMI) above 25 before pregnancy. Those with none of the four risk factors were at a 52% lower risk of gestational diabetes than other women – and an 83% lower risk than those with all four risk factors.
About 48% of all gestational diabetes cases could be avoided if women adhered to all four pre-pregnancy lifestyle factors, that is not smoking, being a healthy weight, following a healthy diet and exercising regularly, say the team.
"Adherence to a low risk lifestyle before pregnancy is associated with a low risk of gestational diabetes and could be an effective strategy for the prevention of gestational diabetes," say the researchers.
Zhang, C. et al. Adherence to healthy lifestyle and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: prospective cohort study. BMJ 1 October 2014; doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5450 [abstract]
Leave a Reply