Number of women with gestational diabetes is rising

The number of women with gestational diabetes increased in the period 2015-2019. In 2015, nine thousand women with gestational diabetes were still known in Dutch GP practices; in 2019 that number had risen to more than 12,000. This is evident from a recent study by Nivel commissioned by the Diabetes Fund, Nivel reports.

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Possible explanations for the increase in gestational diabetes, according to the researchers, are better screening and an increasing number of pregnancies in older women. Gestational diabetes can lead to complications at birth. In addition, these women subsequently develop type 2 diabetes more often and their children also have an increased risk of it.

Pregnant at a later age

Especially women who are pregnant at a later age are more likely to get this form of diabetes. In 2019, 6.5 percent of pregnant women between the ages of 30 and 34 had gestational diabetes. This was almost 20 percent of women between the ages of 40 and 44.

Injected less insulin

Although the number of women with gestational diabetes has increased in recent years, the percentage of women who need insulin to maintain blood sugar levels has decreased. For example, more than 32 percent of women with gestational diabetes were prescribed insulin in 2015 and 21 percent in 2019. Better screening may play a role here, as a result of which women with a milder form of gestational diabetes also come into the picture.

By: Nationale Zorggids

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