A surge in the number of pregnant Australian women with gestational diabetes threatens to spark an avalanche of type 2 diabetes cases, health experts warn.
More than 38,000 women have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in the past year alone, taking the total for the past decade to more than 200,000.
That figure is now projected to climb towards 500,000 in the next decade, making gestational diabetes the fastest growing type of diabetes across the country, Diabetes Australia chief executive Professor Greg Johnson says.
Gestational diabetes is diagnosed in women when higher-than-normal blood glucose levels are detected during early pregnancy, but the condition usually goes away after they give birth.
However gestational diabetes is one of the biggest risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, which can cause problems with the kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Prof Johnson said Diabetes Australia's latest projections suggest that gestational diabetes could trigger type 2 diabetes or prediabetes in more 250,000 women within a decade.
He called on governments to act quickly to help combat the problem, saying that while diabetes in pregnancy was a major priority in the federal government's Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2016-20, details about how to address the issue were still lacking.
"Sitting back and doing nothing is not an option. This is an avalanche that will bury the health system if we don't act," Prof Johnson said in a statement released to mark World Diabetes Day on Tuesday.
Prof Johnson said advice on maintaining a healthy weight before pregnancy, as well as better information about gestational diabetes during pregnancy support after the birth were all needed.
"This includes seeing their GP for follow up testing to detect type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, and access to type 2 diabetes prevention programs and health professionals including diabetes educators, dietitians and exercise physiologists who can help with lifestyle management to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes," he said.
GESTATIONAL DIABETES RISK FACTORS
* Being over 25
* Family history of type 2 diabetes and/or gestational diabetes
* Gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies
* Being overweight
* Indigenous Australian, Torres Strait Islander, Vietnamese, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Polynesian or Melanesian backgrounds
* Polycystic ovary syndrome
* Giving birth to a large baby previously
(Source: Diabetes Australia)
