Gestational Diabetes Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that develops among some pregnant women. Women who have never had diabetes but who develop high blood sugar levels during pregnancy suffer from gestational diabetes. Each year in the US, approximately 135,000 cases of gestational diabetes are diagnosed, accounting for about 4 percent of all pregnant women.

Gestational Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer

In the past, studies have linked Type 2 diabetes with pancreatic cancer. Recent studies suggest that women who have had gestational diabetes are also at a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose and treat. Usually, the cancer is not detected until the cancer is in the later stages of the disease. Statistics indicate that only about 5 percent of all people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live for five years.

With gestational diabetes linked with pancreatic cancer, pregnant women should be aware of their individual risk of gestational diabetes and take the necessary steps to ensure they experience a healthy pregnancy.

Gestational Diabetes Causes

While doctors aren't sure of the exact cause of gestational diabetes, experts speculate that gestational diabetes develops when the hormones that help the baby develop reduce the ability of a pregnant woman's body to use insulin effectively. This is called insulin resistance.
 
In response, the pregnant woman's placenta works harder than normal to produce insulin. The insulin, however, does not sufficiently lower the woman's blood sugar level. As the glucose builds to high levels in the blood, the pregnant woman becomes hyperglycemic. Hyperglycemia is the medical term for having persistent high blood glucose levels.

Gestational Diabetes and the Growing Fetus

Gestational diabetes tends to affect pregnant women late in their pregnancies, after the baby has formed but while the baby is still growing. While gestational diabetes can be dangerous to both the mother and her unborn child, it does not create the kinds of birth defects that are sometimes seen in infants of women who had diabetes prior to becoming pregnant.

Gestational diabetes can be dangerous to a developing baby, however. Infants who are born to mothers who failed to treat their gestational diabetes or who didn't control their gestational diabetes properly might exhibit the following:

  • Infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes may develop macrosomia, a condition in which the baby has excess body fat.

    Macrosomia is caused when the mother's excess glucose crosses the placenta, providing the baby with high levels of sugar. The baby stores this sugar as excess fat. Macrosomia can lead to the newborn developing obesity and Type 2 diabetes later in life.

  • Infants who are born to mothers with gestational diabetes have a higher risk of developing breathing problems.

Women who have had gestational diabetes in one pregnancy are more likely to develop gestational diabetes in later pregnancies. Some of these women also develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. As stated earlier, gestational diabetes also increases a woman's risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Gestational Diabetes Risk Factors
Gestational diabetes risk factors for women include:

  • being over 25 years old
  • being overweight
  • having a family history of diabetes
  • having had gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies.

Gestational Diabetes Symptoms

Gestational diabetes can be almost asymptomatic. Therefore, experts suggest that pregnant women be screened for gestational diabetes at the start of their third trimester (six months into the pregnancy).

Occasionally, women with gestational diabetes experience the following:

  • bladder and vaginal infections
  • blurred vision
  • extreme thirst
  • increased urination
  • nausea and vomiting
  • weight loss despite increased appetite.
Due to the fact that many gestational diabetes symptoms are similar to pregnancy symptoms, many women might ignore the warning signs of gestational diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes Treatments

Like other forms of diabetes, there is no cure for gestational diabetes. As a result, treatments for this condition revolve around managing the symptoms through controlled exercising, healthful diets and regular monitoring of blood sugar levels. In addition, gestational diabetes may require insulin injections.

If you experience gestational diabetes during your pregnancy, you and your baby will be monitored throughout the remainder of your pregnancy. In some cases, labor will need to be induced before the delivery date to prevent health complications.

Resources

American Diabetes Association (n.d.). Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the Diabetes.org Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp

Mayo Clinic Staff (March 3, 2007). Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the Mayo Clinic Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gestational-diabetes.

Reuters (Aug, 15, 2007). Gestational Diabetes tied to Pancreatic Cancer. Retrieved on August 23, 2007, from the MSNBC Web site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20287817.

WrongDiagnosis.com (n.d.). Statistics about Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the WrongDiagnosis.com Web site: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/g/gestdiab/stats.htm.