Blood Test to Detect Risk of Gestational Diabetes Early

Researchers have developed a new blood test to detect the risk of gestational diabetes early.

According to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two to 10 pregnant women out of every 100 are affected by gestational diabetes, or the development of high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Pregnant women who are aged over 35 years, overweight or with a family history of diabetes are considered to be at higher risks of developing gestational diabetes compared to others.

If untreated, the condition can pose serious risk for both the baby and mother. Gestational diabetes has been associated with an increase in the risk of birth complications, such as stillbirth, giving birth to large babies, preterm birth, babies with low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and jaundice, or seizures.

Though it normally disappears after the birth of the child, gestational diabetes places women at a sevenfold risk of developing type 2 diabetes later, compared to women without a history of gestational diabetes.

Detecting gestational diabetes early can help to ward off these complications, and researchers from Tokyo Women's Medical University initiated to find a solution to the problem. They analyzed 716 pregnant women, all of whom were in their first trimester.

Researchers identified that the level of a biomarker soluble (pro) renin receptor, or s (P) RR in early pregnancy accurately predicted the risk of developing gestational diabetes in the later stages of pregnancy.

Currently, tests are available to diagnose this condition, but these can only be conducted between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors determine the disease by measuring hormones known to cause insulin resistance, produced by the placenta during this period.

"Although it is important to quickly intervene in cases of gestational diabetes, often only women who have risk factors like a family history or obesity are screened early in pregnancy," author of the study Atsuhiro Ichihara said in a news release. "Women who don't have the traditional risk factors may not be diagnosed until the second trimester. The method identified in this study offers every pregnant woman the opportunity to know her risk early on."

The study, published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), concluded that women with high levels of the biomarker during early pregnancy were at a 2.9 time higher risk of developing gestational diabetes than others.