PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Gestational diabetes does not increase risk of breast cancer, large Danish study finds

2024-08-07
(Press-News.org) *Note this is an early release from the Annual Meeting of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes (EASD 2024, Madrid, 9-13 September). Please credit the meeting if using this material*

Women who develop gestational diabetes are not more likely to go on to be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study of almost three-quarters of a million mothers to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) (Madrid, 9-13 September).

Gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy, affects 14% of pregnant women globally and is becoming more common, with those who are living with obesity, have a family history of diabetes and/or older at greater risk.  Race and ethnicity can also affect risk.

It usually goes away after giving birth.  However, women who have had it are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the years to come.  Gestational diabetes is also associated with higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease and mental health conditions, including post-natal depression.

Insulin resistance, where the body’s cells don’t respond properly to insulin and can’t easily take up glucose from blood, causing blood sugar levels to rise, is a key feature of gestational diabetes and has also been linked to breast cancer.

Some studies have found that gestational diabetes is associated with a higher risk of being subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. But other research has concluded that the risk of breast cancer is lower – or that there is no link at all.

Study leader Maria Hornstrup Christensen, of the Steno Diabetes Center Odense, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark, says: “Breast cancer is the most common cancer, as well as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide.  It also has a very high treatment cost compared with other cancer types. 

“If we know who is more likely to develop breast cancer, we might be able to detect it earlier when it is easier to treat, reducing deaths and treatment costs and the psychological and physical toll on women.”

To find out more, Dr Christensen and colleagues used birth, patient and other national registers to obtain information on all women who gave birth in Denmark over a 22-year-period.

After those with pre-existing diabetes or breast cancer were excluded, 708,121 women who had given birth between 1997 and 2018 were included in the analysis.

24,140 (3.4%) of the women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes in one or more pregnancy. Median age at pregnancy was 28 years in both those with and without gestational diabetes.

The women were followed for a median of 11.9 years, during which 7,609 were diagnosed with breast cancer.

The women who had gestational diabetes were no more likely to go to develop breast cancer than those without gestational diabetes. This was seen with regard to breast cancer overall, premenopausal breast cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer.

The finding held true when age, parity, ethnicity, income, occupation, education and pre-existing health problems, such as high blood pressure, were taken into account.

Analyses that factored in pre-pregnancy BMI, smoking during pregnancy and obstetric complications, such as pre-eclampsia, also failed to find an association between gestational diabetes and breast cancer.

The authors conclude that the study, one of the largest of its kind, did not find gestational diabetes to be associated with a higher risk of breast cancer.

Dr Christensen, who divides her time between research and working as a midwife who specialises in the care of women with diabetes, says: “It will be reassuring for women who have had gestational diabetes to know that they are not a higher risk of developing breast cancer.

“They do, however, need to be alert to the fact that they are at higher risk of some conditions, including type 2 diabetes.

“And all women, regardless of whether or not they have had gestational diabetes, should be breast aware and check their breasts regularly for changes.”

She adds that the women studied were predominately Caucasian and living in a country with free healthcare and free breast cancer screening and so the findings will not necessarily apply to other populations and healthcare systems.

 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Chemical and nutritional profile of fruit, vegetables and co-products to improve human health

2024-08-06
New studies emphasize the vital role of fruits, vegetables, and their co-products in boosting human health and life expectancy. Packed with minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber, these foods help prevent chronic diseases. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, such as vitamins and carotenoids, combat harmful free radicals. To get more information and to contribute to the research, visit: bit.ly/46zTKFX Combining various fruits like oranges, apples, grapes, and blueberries enhances antioxidant effects. Diets ...

Attitudes such as distrust of government can cause swine farmers to resist animal biosecurity: UVM study finds

Attitudes such as distrust of government can cause swine farmers to resist animal biosecurity: UVM study finds
2024-08-06
A new University of Vermont study published today in Nature: Scientific Reports examines the social and psychological aspects of farmers’ decisions about whether or not to implement biosecurity measures on pig farms. This is the first study to look at human behavior in biosecurity adoption among swine producers.       Through survey data and simulations, the scientists found that it is largely farmers’ attitudes, which have the biggest impact on farmers’ decision-making strategies regarding implementing farm biosecurity.  Farmer’s attitudes ...

Scientists reach consensus for fasting terminology

Scientists reach consensus for fasting terminology
2024-08-06
Dr. Eric Ravussin of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge was one of 38 scientists from five continents to present the first international consensus on fasting terminology and key definitions. Published in Cell Metabolism, the recent study reflects the increasing popularity of diets tied to fasting and a significant increase in scientific studies of fasting. While the application of fasting is rapidly growing, there was previously no globally established terminology.  The panel was the first to bring ...

C-Path welcomes new advisory members to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency consortium

2024-08-06
TUCSON, Ariz., August 6, 2024 — Critical Path Institute’s (C-Path) Critical Path for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (CPA-1) consortium today announced the addition of several key advisory members. The new members, recognized experts in their respective fields and patient advocacy organizations, will contribute their significant expertise to the consortium’s mission to accelerate drug development for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disorder.  Joining the consortium are:  Alpha-1 Foundation  COPD Foundation  Global ...

Drug bypasses suppressive immune cells to unleash immunotherapy

Drug bypasses suppressive immune cells to unleash immunotherapy
2024-08-06
By recruiting the immune system to combat tumor cells, immunotherapy has improved survival rates, offering hope to millions of cancer patients. However, only about one in five people responds favorably to these treatments. With a goal of understanding and addressing immunotherapy’s limitations, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have found that the immune system can be its own worst enemy in the fight against cancer. In a new study in mice, a subset of immune cells – type 1 regulatory T cells, or Tr1 cells – did its normal job of preventing the immune system from overreacting but did so while inadvertently restraining immunotherapy’s ...

Treatment with smoke can favor seed germination in the Cerrado

Treatment with smoke can favor seed germination in the Cerrado
2024-08-06
For thousands of years, plants have evolved in the presence of wildfires in the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna-like biome. Scientists at São Paulo State University (UNESP) studied the effect of smoke on seed germination for 44 plant species typical of the Cerrado, as reported in an article published in Plant Ecology, where they stress that their findings could be used to optimize the restoration of degraded areas. The study was conducted by PhD candidate Gabriel Schmidt Teixeira Motta under the supervision of Rosana Marta Kolb, a professor at UNESP. “Previous studies focused on the effect of smoke on only a few ...

Medicaid vision coverage for adults varies widely by state

Medicaid vision coverage for adults varies widely by state
2024-08-06
A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that 6.5 million Medicaid enrollees (12%) lived in states without coverage for routine adult eye exams; and 14.6 million (27%) resided in states without coverage for eyeglasses. The study based on 2022-23 coverage policies, published in Health Affairs, is among the first to provide a comprehensive, state-by-state analysis of adult Medicaid benefits for basic vision services in both fee-for-service and managed care. Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly ...

Chemical and nutritional profile of fruit, vegetables and co-produts to improve human health

2024-08-06
A new study emphasizes the vital role of fruits, vegetables, and their co-products in boosting human health and life expectancy. Packed with minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber, these foods help prevent chronic diseases. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, such as vitamins and carotenoids, combat harmful free radicals. Interested in more information and in contributing to the topic, visit: bit.ly/46zTKFX Combining various fruits like oranges, apples, grapes, and blueberries enhances antioxidant effects. Diets rich in these foods can lower blood pressure, reduce heart disease and ...

Better cancer trial representation begins with speaking one’s language

2024-08-06
NEW YORK, NY (July 29, 2024) ---- Underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority populations in cancer clinical trials persists partly because translation and interpretation services and resources are unavailable or inadequate in the United States, according to a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study led by Columbia University School of Nursing. The updated study was published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Spectrum on July 25, 2024 and will appear in the August 2024 journal issue.  In 2019, 68 million people in the United States were reported to speak a language other than ...

Social and structural factors are key drivers of disparities in obesity rates

2024-08-06
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. It has been increasing among adults of all races and ethnicities over the last two decades; however, obesity is higher among Non-Hispanic Black adults, Hispanic adults, and American Indian or Alaska Native adults, than their White and Asian counterparts, according to the National Institutes of Health. Adults with lower income also have higher risk of obesity than those with a high income.  A George Mason University College of Public Health team of interprofessional researchers analyzed the last five years ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

[Press-News.org] Gestational diabetes does not increase risk of breast cancer, large Danish study finds