Diabetes in the News: Pregnancy and Diabetes, Dementia Risk, Pediatric Ketoacidosis

A roundup of diabetes news you may have missed from across MJH Life Sciences™.

Top 10 Research Priorities in Diabetes and Pregnancy

What are the top 10 research priorities for international investigators working in women’s health and diabetes? According to a recent report in HCPLive^®, UK-based researchers surveyed health care providers as well as women with diabetes to determine which areas of unmet need could benefit from more research.

The first phase of the project involved a survey, which had 466 responses. In a second phase, participants convened for a workshop to come to a consensus around the most important priorities.

The top 10 research priorities for diabetes and pregnancy are:

• Diabetes technology
• Optimal testing for diabetes during pregnancy
• Diet and lifestyle Interventions
• Emotional and wellbeing needs of women with diabetes pre- to post-pregnancy
• Safe birth at full-term
• Postnatal care and support needs of women
• Diagnosis and management late in pregnancy
• Prevention of other types of diabetes in women with gestational diabetes
• Women’s labor and birth experiences and choices
• Improving planning for pregnancy

Dementia Risk Linked to Earlier Diabetes Onset

A study recently published in JAMA found a link between an increased risk of dementia the younger the patient was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In a prospective cohort study of 10,095 participants in the United Kingdom, the adjusted analysis found that at age 70, the hazard ratio for every 5-year earlier age at which T2D began was 1.24 (95% CI, 1.06-1.46).

Researchers could only offer a few hypothesizes for the association, such as a connection between brain metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance, as well as higher rates of hypoglycemia in diabetes treatment increasing the risk of dementia.

The study was also reported in HCPLive^®.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis on the Rise in Children During COVID-19

There has been a surge in children with T2D presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), according to a recent study in Diabetes Care.

The study was conducted at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where researchers examined medical records of patients presenting with new-onset T2D between March and August of 2018 to 2020. Results showed a large spike in these cases, from 9% in 2018, dropping to 3% in 2019, and then surging 20% in 2020 (P = .029).

The researchers theorized that because of the pandemic, children may have missed pediatrician appointments, had less physical activity, or had reduces access to healthy food. There may also be a biological link between the virus and diabetes, they said.