A new study found that depression,after or during pregnancy, can be caused by gestational diabetes. The two illnesses are known to occur together. The women in the study that were diagnosed with depression had a higher rate of developing gestational diabetes. This goes the other way around too: women that had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, also had a bigger change of postpartum depression.
Gestational diabetes can cause complications:
This type of diabetes is developed during pregnancy, and it puts both the baby and the mother at risk. Women can experience preeclampsia, a high blood pressure condition; the baby can be either too big or too small, and it can be born with low magnesium and calcium levels.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that in the U.S 10 to 15 % of women experience postpartum depression and approximatly 9 % of women experience diabetes during pregnancy.
2,800 women were surveyed for the study.
In the first six months of pregnancy, the women that took part in this study completed questionnaires. They also completed a questionnaire six months after giving birth to show if they had experienced symptoms of postpartum depression.
The result revealed that women that had depression scores bigger in the first and second trimesters were more likely to develop diabetes compared to those who didn’t experience depression. The study also showed that pregnant women that had diabetes were more likely to have depression after giving birth than the ones that did not experience gestational diabetes.
The researchers also mentioned that to find if there is really a link between these two they need to make more studies. The results did not show the effect and the cause. Despite this, other studies showed that depression has an effect on how the body digests the sugar and it could lead to high blood-sugar levels.
The researched advised doctors to look out for symptoms of gestational diabetes in women with depression and to check if women with diabetes have postpartum depression.
This study was published Sunday, September 19 in Diabetologia journal.
Have you experienced or know someone who has experienced postpartum depression? Do you think that it is linked to gestational diabetes?
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