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03 February 2010

Depression increases risk of diabetes complications

Patients with type 2 diabetes who suffer from depression are much more likely to develop diabetes-related complications, according to the findings of a new study.

29 January 2010

Armidale Support Group Vice-President receives Australia Day honours

Congratulations to Peter Garland, Vice President of the Armidale-Uralla & District Branch, for receiving an Order of Australia Medal in Tuesday’s Australia Day honours.

01 February 2010

Continuous glucose monitoring benefits those starting on insulin pump

People with type 1 diabetes who wear a continuous glucose monitor at least 70% of the time during their first six months after starting an insulin pump achieve better blood glucose improvements.

28 January 2010

Fasting glucose not insulin sensitivity predicts heart disease risk

Fasting blood glucose levels are a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than measures of insulin sensitivity according to new findings.

Pregnant women at risk

19 September 2007

The prevalence of gestational diabetes in NSW has increased tenfold every five years, for the past decade. The dramatic increase was revealed in the Diabetes in NSW Atlas, 2007, which shows the rising trend of diabetes numbers in all forms – type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.

According to the figures, about 10,000 women had gestational diabetes in December 2006 and if the trend, shown since 1995, continues rising, the number will exceed 90,000 by 2012.

It is believed that rising obesity levels, increased age of pregnant women, as well as improved screening, reporting and management of gestational diabetes, have contributed to the higher numbers.

With recent studies suggesting that gestational diabetes puts women at 10 times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the forecast of increasing numbers poses major problems for the future.

It follows a new study by Diabetes Australia-NSW and the University of Newcastle which found that many women with a history of gestational diabetes are not meeting lifestyle recommendations for prevention of type 2 diabetes, placing them at risk of developing the disease later in life.

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. Usually found between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, it develops due to the effects of hormones on insulin action and increased requirements for insulin during pregnancy.

This extra stress of pregnancy can cause high blood glucose levels and while gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, some studies have suggested that between 10 and 50 per cent of women may develop type 2 diabetes within five years to 10 years.

The increasing rates clearly show that gestational diabetes has become a serious concern, says Melinda Morrison, Dietitian with Diabetes Australia-NSW and one of the authors of the study.

The study involved over 1,300 Australian women with a history of gestational diabetes including 530 from NSW.

Results from the NSW women found that most received specialist diabetes care and although 62 per cent were told they were at increased risk, less than half could recall being told how to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.

After their babies were born, more than three quarters of women reported returning for follow-up blood glucose testing but only 40 per cent returned for screening at the recommended six to eight weeks.

Ms Morrison says gestational diabetes is a two part problem: firstly, during pregnancy and then after the baby is born.

“We found that most women do take seriously the health advice they receive while they’re pregnant,” said Ms Morrison. “But after the baby is born, priorities are very much about looking after their family, rather than worrying about their own health.”

”Once gestational diabetes goes away, you kind of go back to your old lifestyle and eating habits,” one woman told the researchers.

The study also revealed that the lifestyles of many women could be placing them at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Only 30 per cent met Australian physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes each day, less than 41 per cent had two serves of fruit each day and only 18 per cent ate a sufficient variety of vegetables.

”I had no major problems with gestational diabetes and kept to the Dietitian’s advice,” said one woman. ”It’s after the birth I’ve let my diet and exercise slip.”

One result came as a surprise to the study team. More than half of the women reported that they were overweight or obese, yet only 25 per cent of them believed their risk of developing type 2 diabetes was ‘high’ or ‘very high’.

“We need to do a lot more to raise to raise awareness of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and have to provide women who are at high risk with more information and support. If we don’t do this, we face massive problems in the future,” said Ms Morrison.

The next stage of this study will be investigating strategies to address the issue of post-natal follow-up and lifestyle change to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in this high risk group.

Gestational diabetes study presented to ADA

The results of the Gestational Diabetes Post-Natal Lifestyle survey, conducted by Diabetes Australia-NSW and the University of Newcastle, were presented at the 2007 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Conference in Chicago.

The results were pooled with those from a University of Queensland study and presented by Dr Julia Lowe, Director of Diabetes, Hunter New England Health.

(Originally published in Issues Spring 2007)