A new study finds that more and more American women, especially Blacks, are entering their reproductive years with diabetes.
African American women in the study had the highest prevalence of diabetes before pregnancy, followed by Hispanic women, then Asian and Pacific Island women, and then Caucasian women.
Study head Jean Lawrence studies diabetes at the giant health care organization Kaiser Permanente. Her study is based on the medical records of approximately 175,000 teenage and adult women in southern California who became pregnant between 1999 and 2005.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that develops when the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Diabetics have abnormally high blood sugar levels, which if left untreated can lead to serious health problems, including foot ulcers, blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke.
The complete results of Lawrence's findings can be found in the May issue of Diabetes Care. (source: Taylor Media Services)