Gestational diabetes, high BP during pregnancy may increase heart disease risk

New Delhi: Pregnancy, while a fulfilling time for an expecting mother, comes with its own set of problems, mostly related to health.

Previous studies have often ahown how various health issues during pregnancy can trigger or lead to other problems and/or complications for both the mother and baby.

Now, a new study has warned that omen who develop both gestational diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy could be at a higher risk of suffering from these cardiometabolic diseases in later years that also raises the risk heart disease.

The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, noted that having been diagnosed with both the risks of diabetes and high blood pressure, at the same time, made a mother six times more likely to develop hypertension in the near future.

"Having either of the conditions increased a woman's risk for diabetes in the future by 15 times. But if the woman had both of them it increased her risk of diabetes by 37 times," said Kaberi Dasgupta, an Indian- origin researcher at the McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

"Knowing this will allow physicians to identify mothers at risk and to work with them to make lifestyle changes in an effort to help reduce those risks," said Romina Pace, lead author of the study from the same University.

The researchers looked at a sample of 40,000 women, in three cohorts: Those who developed neither blood pressure nor diabetes during pregnancy; those who developed one or the other; and those who were diagnosed with both.

The results found that even the fathers of the new born babies were also relatively affected by the chances of heart diseases and hypertension risks in their later lives.

"We found there were increased risks in the father as well. This shared risk is an important finding because it can help promote collaboration between partners to make lasting lifestyle changes in the household together," adds Dr. Pace.

(With IANS inputs)