Probability of Diabetes Higher in Pregnant Women Expecting Sons Than Daughters

Gestational diabetes is more common in women who are expecting male babies than women who expect girls, finds new study. When a woman has higher levels of glucose, or blood sugar, in the bloodstream than normal during pregnancy, the condition is called gestational diabetes. Women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes face a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future.

One of the study’s authors, Dr.Baiju R. Shah, University of Toronto, said that it is thought that gestational diabetes occurs because of a combination of underlying metabolic abnormalities in the mother and temporary metabolic changes that take place during pregnancy. Their findings suggest a male fetus leads to greater pregnancy-associated metabolic changes than a female fetus does.

While the researchers found women who were having boys were more likely to develop gestational diabetes, women who did develop gestational diabetes while they were pregnant with daughters were at higher risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy. This suggests these women had more serious underlying metabolic abnormalities that made them more susceptible to gestational diabetes, even without the added impact of a developing male fetus, Shah said.

Shah said the study suggests that the baby can help us better understand the health of the mother, and can help us predict her risks for future diseases.



Source-Medindia