E-newsletter for Patients - April 2008

Diabetes and Children

Pregnancy-related diabetes increases children’s risk

The diabetes status of a woman during pregnancy may determine if her child will develop type 2 diabetes. According to a report in Diabetes Care magazine (February 2008), Danish researchers discovered that the rate of diabetes or pre-diabetes was 21% in those born to mothers who had pregnancy-related diabetes, compared to 4% to those whose mother had no history of diabetes. High blood sugar levels in the womb may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Dr. Tine Dlasgaard Clausen of Copenhagen University Hospital led the research, which included 597 Danish adults.