Pregnancy occurs relatively early in a woman's lifespan. Experiencing a complicated pregnancy with Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can uniquely serve as an early indicator of future maternal non-communicable disease, and therefore can offer an opportunity to initiate meaningful risk reduction strategies.
A critically reviewed data from studies regarding long-term consequences (both mother and offspring).
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an independent risk factor for future longer-term risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular morbidity, malignancies, ophthalmic, psychiatric, and renal disease in the mother. Offspring risk long-term adverse health outcomes, including T2DM, subsequent obesity, impacted neurodevelopmental outcome, increased neuropsychiatric morbidity, and ophthalmic disease.
Although only scarce evidence exists on the long-term effectiveness of risk-reduction interventions, the postpartum period should still be the focus for actions such as lifestyle modification (optimal weight goals, exercise, smoking cessation) and controlling for cardio-metabolic risk factors (blood pressure, glucose, lipids and weight gain) that may help abate the development of future cardio-vascular diseases, as early as their pre-clinical stage.