New research conducted at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and Mount Sinai School of Medicine shows a link between prediabetes among young people and adverse pregnancy outcomes later in life. The findings could alter how doctors routinely screen or counsel youth on blood glucose levels, and subsequently, minimize potential maternal and neonatal risks. The results are published in JAMA Network Open.
This study is an important step in tying lifecourse cardiometabolic health to optimal pregnancy outcomes. The findings point to an opportunity to invest in adolescent health to promote later healthy pregnancies." Teresa Janevic, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and senior author Prediabetes is a serious health condition that occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, or persistently high blood sugar levels.
Prediabetes can increase risks for heart disease and stroke, and disproportionally burdens Hispanic, Black, and low-income individuals. The prediabetes rate among youth in the United States has doubled in the last decade to nearly one in three aged 12 to 19 years, according to JAMA Pediatrics . In their new study, the researchers examined the significance of prediabetes prior to conception among adolescents and young adults, a group that is most at risk of unplanned pregnancy and least likely to benefit from preconception health counseling.
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