New York: Just over two-thirds of pregnant women undergo screening tests for gestational diabetes, according to a new analysis of nearly one million patient records.
Among the five percent of women who tested positive for pregnancy-related diabetes, just one in five were screened again within six months of giving birth, Dr. Jon M. Nakamoto of Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano, California, and his colleagues found.
The findings are particularly concerning, Nakamoto told Reuters Health, given that a recent large study, the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) trial, found that even subtle defects in maternal glucose metabolism during pregnancy led to health problems for both mother and baby. Women who have gestational diabetes are also at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future, he added.
At present, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Diabetes Association recommend screening pregnant women for gestational diabetes, and state that women who do develop pregnancy-related diabetes should be re-tested six to 12 weeks after delivering their babies....
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12:22 PM, Dec 23, 2010
