February 15, 2008
Research: Causes and Prevention
Question from Natal, South Africa:
During my pregnancy, 10 years ago with my daughter, I had preeclampsia. I do not have diabetes, however, my daughter’s father was diagnosed when he was 27 years old. I know my child has a higher risk of developing diabetes due to her father, but does she have an increased risk because I had pre-eclampsia during my pregnancy with her? I read on another site that one of the risk factors to a child developing diabetes is having a mother that had pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. Is this true?
Answer:
I am not sure which study you are referring to exactly. However, a recent study from Great Britain (published in Diabetologia, 2007) investigated the relationship between pre-eclampsia and the development of type 2 diabetes in mothers and their babies. The conclusion from that study was that pre-eclampsia was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the mother, but not the child. Birth weight was a more important risk factor for the child.
OWJ
