In analysis restricted to women who did not develop T2DM, GDM still linked to increased risk
FRIDAY, March 8, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have an increased risk fir developing cardiovascular events postpartum, according to a review published online March 7 in Diabetologia.
Caroline K. Kramer, M.D., Ph.D., from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of observational studies that examined the correlation of GDM with subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Using a random-effects model, the predictive value of GDM for future cardiovascular events was calculated. Data were included for 5,390,591 women (101,424 cardiovascular events) in a pooled analysis of nine studies.
The researchers found that women with GDM had an increased risk for future cardiovascular events compared with those who did not have GDM (RR, 1.98). The rates of incident type 2 diabetes across the studies did not affect this risk in meta-regression analysis. GDM remained associated with an increased risk for future cardiovascular events when restricted to women who did not develop type 2 diabetes (RR, 1.56). In the first decade postpartum, GDM conferred a 2.3-fold increased risk for cardiovascular events (RR, 2.31).
“The diagnosis of GDM should be recognized as providing a unique window into a woman’s future risk of CVD, and hence an opportunity for early risk modification and possibly prevention of the leading cause of mortality in women,” the authors write.
Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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