Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in young women following gestational diabetes
- Baiju R. Shah, MD PhD (baiju.shah{at}ices.on.ca)1,,2,
- Ravi Retnakaran, MD MSc1 and
- Gillian L. Booth, MD MSc1,,2
- 1Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
- 2Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario
Abstract
Objective: To determine whether women with gestational diabetes (GDM) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) following pregnancy.
Research Design and Methods: All women aged 20 to 49 years with live births between April 1994 and March 1997 in Ontario, Canada were identified. Women with GDM were matched with up to ten women without GDM, and were followed for CVD.
Results: The matched cohorts included 8,191 women with GDM and 81,262 women without. Mean age at entry was 31 years, and median follow up was 11.5 years. The hazard ratio for CVD events was 1.71 (95% confidence interval 1.08–2.69). After adjustment for subsequent type 2 diabetes, the hazard ratio was attenuated (1.13, 95% confidence interval 0.67–1.89).
Conclusions: Young women with GDM had a substantially increased risk for CVD compared to women without GDM. Much of this increased risk was attributable to subsequent development of type 2 diabetes.
Footnotes
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- Received April 11, 2008.
- Accepted May 8, 2008.
- Copyright © American Diabetes Association
