A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that at least one in 10 pregnant women in the United States develop gestational diabetes.
The condition happens in women with no history of diabetes but they develop have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy.
For the study, the CDC researchers analysed the data gathered from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System questionnaire and state birth certificate records. The team compared the rates of two time periods - 2007 to 2008 and 2009 to 2010.
The team noted high prevalence of gestational diabetes. The researchers found the prevalence to be anywhere between 4.6 and 9.2 percent.
Researchers stressed the importance of taking preventive measures due to the possible complications from gestational diabetes.
"Our results indicate that gestational diabetes prevalence is high in the U.S.," said lead researcher Carla DeSisto, an epidemiology research fellow at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes have more than a seven-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the five to 10 years after delivery. Children born to mothers with gestational diabetes are also more likely to develop pre-diabetes," DeSisto said, reports HealthDay.
Researchers said that no exact cause of what leads to gestational diabetes is known, they said that obesity is a major risk factor for the condition. The team explained that preventing obesity could be a key in reducing one's risk of developing the condition.
"You have to control your diet. You have to eat healthy. You have to have some level of physical activity, so frequent exercise is important," Dr. Alessandro Acosta, a neonatologist at Miami Children's Hospital, stated.
The study, 'Prevalence Estimates of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the United States, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), 2007-2010,' was published in the journal, Preventing Chronic Disease.
