Gestational diabetes or hypertension may provide a warning signal . . . to the father

A retrospective cohort study from Quebec suggests that gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension or preeclampsia during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease in the other parent. The more subsequent pregnancies with complications, the greater the risk of a new diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the other parent.The findings point to an opportunity to promote prevention measures in fathers and a chance for a couple to adopt healthy lifestyle practices together. The researchers from McGill and Concordia universities in Montreal looked at health administration data from more than 415,000 Quebec families. Compared to parents where there was no case of gestational diabetes, hypertension or preeclampsia: A single pregnancy with one or more of those complications was linked to a 21% increase in diabetes and 11% increased risk of hypertension in the partner;two pregnancies with those complications was associated with a 40% increased risk of diabetes, a 17% higher risk of hypertension and a 15% increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the partner;three (or more) pregnancies with those complications was connected to an 84% higher risk of diabetes, a 39% higher risk of hypertension and a 15% increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the partner.“These pregnancy complications appear to function as early warning signals for fathers,” said Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta, senior scientist in the metabolic disorders and complications program and McGill University. “They offer a window of opportunity for prevention years before chronic disease develops.”The same research team previously found connections with gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension and a rise in cardiometabolic risk in fathers. This paper further establishes the risk to suggest a stepwise increase with each pregnancy. The association can be for many reasons, including the shared living environments, lifestyles, behaviours and eating patterns.The researchers are now testing if counselling couples to act together to improve step counts when one or both have type 2 diabetes improves adherence to the exercise program. The randomized controlled trial is funded by Diabetes Canada.The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Gestational diabetes or hypertension may provide a warning signal . . . to the father

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