Optimising five lifestyle choices may significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes for women who have experienced gestational diabetes mellitus, a study suggests.  

Data from the prospective US Nurses Health Study II show that adherence to recommendations on the five modifiable risk factors — BMI, diet, physical activity and use of alcohol and cigarettes — is associated with a more than 90% relative reduction in risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

“A key message of the study was that, for women with a history of [GDM], an incremental increase in the number of optimal modifiable factors was associated with a dose-dependent reduction of type 2 diabetes risk — even among those who were overweight or obese,” wrote the researchers, led by Professor Cuilin Zhang.  

Starting in 1989, the researchers, from Harvard Medical School and the National University of Singapore, assessed risk factors among 4275 study participants with a history of GDM, including 924 (21.6%) who developed type 2 disease over the following 28 years.