Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston are investigating a sharp rise in gestational diabetes among Chinese American populations that appears to outpace increases seen in other groups, The Atlantic reported May 27.
George King, MD, the center’s research director, said the trend mirrors similar patterns in mainland China and Taiwan. While gestational diabetes has climbed broadly among people of Asian descent, the rate among those of Chinese descent seems to diverge from what rising Type 2 diabetes numbers alone would predict.
Atif Adam, PhD, a research fellow at Joslin, described gestational diabetes among Asian American populations as “the largest undocumented disparity in maternal health” at a meeting earlier this month. Dr. Adam and colleagues say the pattern of growth in Chinese populations “seems to be different from other ethnicities,” though pinning down a cause remains elusive. Proposed factors include dietary shifts toward Western foods, rising maternal age, toxin exposure, gut microbiome differences and social stressors, such as racism.
Left unmanaged, gestational diabetes raises the chances of preeclampsia, premature birth, high birth weight and stillbirth. Roughly half of those diagnosed will go on to develop Type 2 diabetes, and their children face elevated metabolic risk, as well.
By this fall, Dr. King and colleagues plan to apply for federal funding to test an intervention targeting gestational diabetes among Asian Americans in the greater Boston area. Researchers hope that data collected through that effort may also help clarify whether Chinese Americans face a distinct elevation in risk.
Joslin Diabetes Center is an independent, nonprofit research institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
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