Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Nov:145:193-199.
doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2018.04.008. Epub 2018 Apr 19.

Hyperglycemia in pregnancy and its implications for a woman's future risk of cardiovascular disease

Affiliations
Review

Hyperglycemia in pregnancy and its implications for a woman's future risk of cardiovascular disease

Ravi Retnakaran. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

It is well established that gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) identifies a population of women who are at risk of ultimately developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) later in life. Moreover, this relationship extends across the full spectrum of hyperglycemia in pregnancy, with lesser degrees of gestational dysglycemia identifying a proportionate gradient of future risk of T2DM. Importantly, a growing body of evidence suggests that an analogous relationship exists between hyperglycemia in pregnancy and a woman's long-term risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well. Indeed, as compared to their peers, woman who had GDM have a higher risk of major cardiovascular events, which first manifests within the first decade after the index pregnancy. Although the absolute incidence of such events remains low in young women of child-bearing age, the identification of future risk of CVD at this early point in its natural history may provide the unique opportunity for timely intervention and ideally disease prevention. Thus, in this review, we discuss the emerging concept of hyperglycemia in pregnancy as an indicator of the future risk of CVD in young women and its implications for research and clinical practice.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Gestational diabetes; Heart; Risk factors; Women’s health.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources