title: The genetics of gestational diabetes mellitus: evidence for relationship with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Gestational diabetes is a major public health problem because of its prevalence, its associated complications during pregnancy, and its increased risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. Insulin resistance is one of many physiological changes occurring during pregnancy, and when insulin resistance is accompanied by pancreatic beta-cell insufficiency, gestational diabetes may develop. Several lines of evidence suggest that gestational diabetes shares a common etiology with type 2 diabetes and support the hypothesis that gestational diabetes serves as a window to reveal a predisposition to type 2 diabetes. Pregnancy is an environmental stressor that may catalyze the progression to a diabetic state in genetically predisposed women; therefore, identification of these women during pregnancy could decrease the occurrence of type 2 diabetes through targeted prevention. This review presents an overview of the genetics of gestational diabetes, focusing on human association studies with candidate genes common to both type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Blood Disorders, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robitaille
authors.forename: Althea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Grant
mesh_terms: D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose