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Short Women Are At Greater Risk for Gestational
Diabetes
posted 05/14/04
A new study shows that women who develop gestational diabetes
mellitus (GDM) tend to be shorter than their glucose-tolerant counterparts.
Going a step further, the new research from Australia shows specifically that
women with GDM have shorter legs, or lower "leg-to-height percentage," than
glucose-tolerant women.
"Consideration of short stature as a risk factor for GDM is not valid without
taking into account the leg-to-height percentage."
""The next logical step," Dr. Moses continued, "was to show that this was the
case in women with GDM, a group at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in
the future."
Dr. Moses and Maria T. Mackay, a registered nurse, prospectively determined leg
length and leg-to-height percentage in 161 glucose-tolerant pregnant women and
61 with GDM. They discovered that women with GDM were 2.8 cm shorter on average
than women who were glucose tolerant. This was entirely due to their leg
lengths, which were a mean of 3.2 cm shorter.
The researchers also noted negative correlations between various height
parameters, including leg-to-height percentage, and the 2-hour glucose tolerance
test results, but not fasting glucose readings. "The reason for this is not
entirely apparent and will require further research," the team admits.
The clinical implications of these observations are "unlikely to be of major
importance," the authors note. "However, the general observation about
leg-to-height percentage may stimulate further research," they write.
"Short stature per se," Dr. Moses said, "is not a risk factor for developing and
therefore testing for GDM."
"This study does, however, further reinforce the probable significance of the
effect of intrauterine programming on the development of diseases in later
life," he added. Moreover, "it is further evidence that much of the risk for
type 2 diabetes is acquired rather than being genetic and if it is acquired then
it could be preventable."
Source: Diabetes In Control.com: Diabetes Care 2004;27:1033-1035.
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