Risk of diabetes ‘nearly 10-fold higher after GDM’

The finding underlines the need for postpartum screening and timely interventions, researchers say

Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a near 10-fold increased relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women with a normoglycaemic pregnancy, a meta-analysis shows.

The magnitude of this elevated risk — higher than previously demonstrated — underlines the importance of postpartum screening among these women in the primary and secondary care setting, the UK researchers say.