Gestational Diabetes Rose Every Year in the US Since 2016 - News Center

"Gestational diabetes rose every single year in the U.S. from 2016 through 2024, according to a new Northwestern Medicine analysis of more than 12 million U.S. births published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The condition, which raises health risks for both mother and baby, shot up 36 percent over the nine-year period (from 58 to 79 cases per 1,000 births) and increased across every racial and ethnic group."

""Gestational diabetes has been persistently increasing for more than 10 years, which means whatever we have been trying to do to address diabetes in pregnancy has not been working," said senior author Nilay Shah, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. The findings update the research team's earlier work covering 2011-2019, confirming nearly 15 years of uninterrupted increases."

"Gestational diabetes, a form of glucose intolerance first diagnosed during pregnancy, carries immediate pregnancy risks and increases the chance of future diabetes and heart disease for both the mother and the child. Shah said the alarming trend likely reflects worsening health among young Americans. "The health of young adults has been persistently worsening - less healthful diets, less exercise, more obesity," Shah said. "These trends likely underlie why the rates of diabetes during pregnancy have gone up.""

Analysis of every U.S. birth for first singleton pregnancies from 2016 to 2024 using birth certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows gestational diabetes rose steadily each year, increasing 36 percent (from 58 to 79 cases per 1,000 births). Rates increased across all racial and ethnic groups, with substantially higher rates among American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups. Gestational diabetes raises immediate pregnancy risks and increases long-term risk of diabetes and heart disease for both mothers and children. Worsening young adult health—poorer diets, less exercise, and higher obesity—likely contributes to the rise.

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