While gestational diabetes is known to affect the heart, women who follow healthy habits like proper weight, diet, and no alcohol or tobacco are 86 per cent less likely to experience any future risks to heart, according to a global study.
Gestational diabetes — a condition characterised by elevated blood sugar during pregnancy — remains one of the most common pregnancy complications worldwide.
The research found that women who adopted a long-term commitment to a combination of five healthy lifestyle behaviours — maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, regular physical activity, eating a high-quality diet, and moderate alcohol intake — reduced their risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) by up to 86 per cent compared to those who did not adopt any of these habits.
Remarkably, among women who consistently followed all five optimal lifestyle factors, no cardiovascular events were observed over nearly 28 years of follow-up.
“Our findings suggest that CVD is not an inevitable outcome for women with a history of gestational diabetes,” said Dr. Yang Jiaxi, Senior Research Fellow at NUS Medicine, Singapore.
“Even modest lifestyle improvements after pregnancy can significantly reduce future heart risk,” Jiaxi added.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), tracked over 4,300 women, all of whom had a history of gestational diabetes but were free of heart disease and diabetes at the outset.
The study underscored the importance of improving lifestyle habits over time, as these changes were associated with substantially reduced CVD risk, while declines in these habits increased risk substantially.
“These findings once again underscore the importance of continued follow-up for women who experience high blood sugar in pregnancy,” said Professor Zhang Cuilin, from the NUS Medicine.