Breastfeeding may reduce development of type 2 diabetes among gestational diabetic women, says study
Posted on: 22/Jul/2016 5:22:14 PM
A new study has said that breastfeeding may be a cost-effective intervention aimed at reducing the long-term risk of developing type-2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes. The study was conducted by researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen in Germany, along with partners at the Technical University of Munich, or TUM, and the German Centre for Diabetes Research, or DZD.
Say the researchers, We studied the metabolism of women with gestational diabetes after giving birth. We were able to show that breastfeeding for more than three months brings about long-term metabolic changes. Four per cent of all pregnant women in Germany develop gestational diabetes before the birth of their child. Although their blood sugar levels initially return to normal after delivery, one in two of the mothers affected develop type-2 diabetes within the next ten years. While it has been shown that lactation can lower this risk by 40 per cent, the reasons for this are not yet understood.
An earlier study conducted by researchers at the Institute of Diabetes Research, or IDF, at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, showed that breastfeeding for more than three months postpartum has a protective effect, which lasts for up to 15 years after gestational diabetes.
The researchers of the new study examined whether the metabolism could be responsible for this. For their analyses, scientists examined almost 200 patients who had developed gestational diabetes.
Speaking about the study, the researchers said, We observed that the metabolites in women who had breastfed for more than three months differed significantly from those who had had shorter lactation periods. Longer periods of lactation are linked to a change in the production of phospholipids and to lower concentrations of branched-chain amino acids in the mothers` blood plasma.
