Gestational diabetes affects six percent of pregnant women in Canada.
New MUHC research now shows a link between that and the likelihood of their children getting the disease.
“We found that the children of moms who had gestational diabetes were twice as likely to develop diabetes before the age of 22 years of age,” said Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta of the MUHC Research Institute.
“I want to emphasize though that most children did not develop diabetes.”
She says that the odds are still quite low for someone under 22 years old to develop the disease.
“If you followed five thousand kids for two years, about two would develop diabetes before 22 years of age if their mom didn’t have gestational diabetes, and just over four would develop it if their mom did,” she said.
“It’s an increased risk, but not to panic over.”
Dr. Dasgupta says that medical history is just another tip for doctors to confirm the disease.
“If your mom has had a history of gestational diabetes, that’s another clue that hopefully can be used to expedite a diagnosis by your physician,” she said.
Diabetes that is undiagnosed could be fatal.
