Type 2 Diabetes Risk After Gestational Diabetes

What is the link between Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and type 2 Diabetes? Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a form of glucose intolerance that is diagnosed during pregnancy. After pregnancy, 5 to 10 percent of women who had GDM are found to have type 2 diabetes. Women who have had GDM have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years following pregnancy.1, 2 The children of women with a history of GDM are at an increased risk for obesity and diabetes compared to other children.3,4 What is the prevalence of GDM? • In the United States, GDM affects about 7 percent of all pregnancies, resulting in more than 200,000 cases annually.2 • Recent reports have noted high or increasing prevalence rates for GDM in various parts of the United States, including: o Washington, D.C., where the prevalence rate in Hispanic/Latina women was 12 percent in 2003,5 close to the highest rate of 14 percent seen in some American Indian communities.6 o New York City, where the prevalence increased 46 percent from 2.6 percent in 1990 to 3.8 percent in 2002 with the highest prevalence of 11 percent in South and Central Asian women.7 o Colorado, where the prevalence increased 95 percent—from 2.1 percent in 1994 to 4.1 percent in 2002—with increases for non-Hispanic white women 1.7 to 3.1 percent, for Hispanic/Latina women 2.8 to 5.4 percent, and for African American women 3.8 to 5.5 percent. For Asian American women rates decreased from 7.9 to 6.8 percent.8 o Northern California, where the yearly cumulative incidence increased 35 percent from 5.1 percent in 1991 to 6.9 percent in 2000.9 Who is at risk? • Women who have had GDM have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing diabetes in the next five to 10 years following pregnancy. • The children of women with a history of GDM are at an increased risk for obesity and diabetes compared to other children. • GDM occurs more frequently among obese women and women with a family history of diabetes, and among African American, Hispanic/Latina, and American Indian and Alaska Native women.