2023-07-19 11:29:18
Berlin. The prevalence of gestational diabetes (GDM) in Germany is increasing rapidly. Before the introduction of the screening in 2012, around three to four percent were affected, the prevalence in 2018 was 6.8 percent and in 2021 almost 7.9 percent, says private lecturer Dr. Katharina Laubner from the University Hospital Freiburg at a joint online press conference of the German Diabetes Society (DDG) and the German Society for Endocrinology (DGE). This currently corresponds to over 56,000 affected women a year. 10 to 20 percent require insulin.
Laubner emphasized that care for women with GDM must continue following delivery. However, only 38 percent take appropriate follow-up appointments. Above all, overweight women, women from socially disadvantaged backgrounds or with a migration background do not come to the practices.
Risk of type 2 diabetes increased 10-fold following birth
There is an almost tenfold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within a median of eight years. “In addition, cardiovascular complications occur twice as often within 10 to 22 years following delivery compared to women with normal glucose tolerance during pregnancy,” says Laubner, “regardless of the interim manifestation of type 2 diabetes.”
It is therefore necessary to increase awareness of GDM followingcare, for example by inserting a leaflet in the child’s preventive care booklet or by involving the midwives in charge. Laubner also asks general practitioners to ask following pregnancies whether a GDM was present.
Follow-up following GDM includes regular screening for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cardiovascular risk factors. The S3 guideline on gestational diabetes from 2018 is currently being revised; according to Laubner, the update is expected for autumn 2024.
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