Gestational diabetes is a birth complication affecting millions of women worldwide. New research examines the link between air temperature and the risk of developing this condition.

Gestational diabetes (GD) is a temporary form of diabetes that affects some women during pregnancy. These future mothers often have no history of diabetes prior to getting pregnant, but their blood sugar increases by the time they are halfway through their pregnancy.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in the United States, as many as 9.2 percent of pregnant women may be affected by GD. Worldwide, around 1 in 7 births are affected by this complication.

GD occurs when the hormones in the placenta trigger insulin resistance, meaning that healthy blood sugar levels cannot be maintained.

Sensitivity to insulin is known to be improved by exposure to cold temperatures, during which the body produces more heat to keep itself warm. However, could it be that outside air temperatures have a larger impact on the risk of developing GD?

Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Mount Sinai Hospital, and the University of Toronto - all in Ontario, in Canada - set out to explore the connection between outdoor air temperature and the risk of GD.

The findings were published in CMAJ.

The study examined 555,911 births from 396,828 women over a period of 12 years, from 2002 to 2014.

The women were 31 years old on average, and lived in the Greater Toronto Area. Approximately half of the mothers were not born in Canada.

Extremely cold outdoor temperatures were defined as an average of 10C or less, and hot temperatures as 24C on average.

The women were exposed to these different temperatures for 30 days before being screened for GD.

GD occurred in 4.6 percent of the women that had been exposed to extremely cold temperatures, but this number jumped to 7.7 percent for the women who had been exposed to hot temperatures.

Furthermore, each 10C increase in temperature correlated with a 1.06 times higher risk of GD. A similar trend was found when the temperature increased between two pregnancies in the same mother.

"By further limiting our analysis to pregnancies within the same woman, we controlled for a whole number of factors," says co-lead author Dr. Joel Ray, a researcher at St. Michael's and ICES. "Doing so allowed us to eliminate factors like ethnicity, income, activity, and eating habits that would differ between two different women."

Lead author Dr. Gillian Booth, a researcher at St. Michael's and ICES, reports on the findings:

"We observed a direct relation between outdoor temperature and the risk of gestational diabetes among nearly 400,000 women residing in a single urban area in Canada.

After adjusting for influential risk factors, each 10C increase in [...] temperature was associated with a 6-9 percent relative increase in the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus."

Although the study was observational and cannot provide causality, Dr. Booth offers a potential explanation for the seemingly counterintuitive results:

"Many would think that in warmer temperatures, women are outside and more active, which would help limit the weight gain in pregnancy that predisposes a woman to gestational diabetes. However, it fits a pattern we expected from new studies showing that cold exposure can improve your sensitivity to insulin, by turning on a protective type of fat called brown adipose tissue."

"Although we studied a single geographical region, our findings are likely to be generalizable to other regions in North America and worldwide," say the authors.

They also warn that, if their findings are correct, this could potentially mean that the worldwide number of GD cases might continue to increase as a consequence of global warming.

"Although changes in temperature of this size may lead to a small relative increase in the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, the absolute number of women affected in Canada and elsewhere may be substantial," the authors conclude.

Learn how the link between depression and GD can work two ways.

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Can outdoor temperatures influence gestational diabetes? - Medical News Today

The American Diabetes Association is teaching Mick Mulvaney, who serves as head of the Office of Management and Budget under President Donald Trump, a valuable lesson about human biology.

On Thursday, Mulvaney told an audience at the Light Forum at Stanford University that people who get diabetes may not deserve affordable health insurance.

That doesnt mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes. Is that the same thing as Jimmy Kimmels kid? I dont think that it is, Mulvaney told the audience, according to a report by the Washington Examiner.

Butas the American Diabetes Association pointed out in a public statement on Friday, the notion that the condition is solely caused by poor lifestyle choices is both offensive and inaccurate.

All of the scientific evidence indicates that diabetes develops from a diverse set of risk factors, genetics being a primary cause, the statement said. People with diabetes need access to affordable health care in order to effectively manage their disease and prevent dangerous and costly complications. Nobody should be denied coverage or charged more based on their health status.

This isnt the first time that Mulvaney has made comments which critics perceived as calloused and factually challenged. In March, Mulvaney caught flak for arguing that cutting funds to Meals on Wheels was probably one of the most compassionate things we can do because it allowed the government to guarantee to you that that money is actually being used in a proper function.

Not only was this remark derided for its insensitivity, but it ignored the fact that Meals on Wheels has been demonstrably very effective.

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Mick Mulvaney gets schooled about diabetes after saying it's caused by poor lifestyle choices - Salon

Mick Mulvaney, now in charge of deciding who deserves health care.

The debate over Trumpcare has exposed Republican attitudes toward the people they represent more than any debate in recent memory. We've always known that they value some lives more than others, but they don't say it out loud very ofteninstead, it's dog-whistled most of the time. Now, though, when we're talking actual life and death formillions of people, they're unleashed.

First it was Rep. Mo Brooksof Alabamawith his comparison of"those people who lead good lives, they're healthy" and have pre-existing health conditions "through no fault of their own," versus the people who brought it on themselves and therefore don't deserve affordable insurance. Now it's popular vote loser Donald Trump's budget director, Mick Mulvaney, who is doling out health care on the basis of virtue.

"We have plenty of money to deal with that. We have plenty of money to provide that safety net so that if you get cancer you don't end up broke," Mulvaney said at the Leaders in Global Healthcare and Technology forum.

But then he drew a distinction between people like [Jimmy] Kimmel's son, born with a congenital heart disease, and people who end up with conditions like diabetes. "That doesn't mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes," Mulvaney said, according to a Washington Examiner account consistent with real-time social media reports. "Is that the same thing as Jimmy Kimmel's kid? I don't think that it is."

The American Diabetes Association would like Mulvaney to understand that lifeand diabetesdon't work that way.

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Have diabetes? Trump's budget director says you brought it on yourself, so no health care for you - Daily Kos

Ill be responding to the prompts provided over the course of the week. I recommend checking out the topics and posts hereto keep up with all the bloggers participating this week.

Okay, time to respond to prompt #1! Here it is:

The prompt: Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random. What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved ones, life that you never could have expected?

Expect the unexpected is one of the many taglines of the reality television show, Big Brother (of which I am, unashamedly, a fan). Its a warning to contestants that curveballs could, and will, be lobbed at them when they least anticipate it, and it certainly translates well into the life of a person with diabetes. Over the years, Ive experienced a number of mini emergenciesrunning out of test strips, forgetting my meter at home, dealing with failed insulin pods, coping with burnoutthese are just a few examples of episodes that always seem to happen when its the least convenient timing.

How have I prepared myself for the unexpected? Its become about anticipating all the possible scenarios: Maybe my pod will fail, so Ill need a backup, extra wipes, and insulin. Maybe I will have more than one low blood sugar on the go today, so Ill pack extra snacks. Maybe my PDM will run out of battery, so Ill carry replacements in my purse. Its a matter of being armed at all times with more supplies than its probably necessary to have, but Id rather be safe than sorry. In fact, my T1D mom and I always say to each other that wed rather have something and not need it, than not have it and need it. Its much easier to deal with the unexpected when you do everything you can to prepare for challengesI stress much less and dont panic to the same degree when I have everything I might need on my person.

To address the second part of the prompt, I think that one good thing that diabetes has brought into my life is a little more control over my eating habits than I might have without it. Since I was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of four years old, I grew up understanding the importance of portion control because it was detrimental to my carb counting and accurate dosing. As an adult, I can also see how this has been a positive influence on my weight management and knowing when I may be going overboard with portion sizes.

I have moments when Im angry/frustrated/burnt-out from my diabetes, but every so often I like to remind myself that its not the worst thing in the world. Its made me stronger in ways I never expected, and for that, Im grateful.

Molly Johannes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997 at the age of four. She controls her diabetes with an OmniPod insulin pump, Dexcom continuous glucose monitor, and daily exercise. Molly graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in December 2014 with a degree in English. Currently, she works fulltime as an associate editor for a financial company. In her spare time, Molly enjoys spending time with her loved ones, reading books, watching movies, and playing games. Shes an avid fan of Disney, dark chocolate, wine, Harry Potter, and fun times. While Molly does not know a life without diabetes, she is determined to defy the daily obstacles the disease presents.

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#DBlogWeek Day 1 Diabetes and the Unexpected - A Sweet Life

Im not a huge fan of Mothers Day. Mind you: my kids are wonderful about it, and so is my husband. I just kind of want to live a life in which we all almost always appreciate one another, and remind one another of it. That said, I have someone or rather something special to thank this Mothers Day:

Say what?

Yes, you heard me right. Because while I did not know it when diabetes barreled into my daughters life nearly 20 years ago, it was the best worst thing that ever happened to me as a mother.

Diabetes has brought much grief, but I can say without hesitation that it has made me better in many ways. Its forced me to be strong and diligent, and given me skills and insights I didnt necessarily want, but that made me grow for the better. Part of who I am as a mother is thanks to diabetes.

And so, for Mothers Day this year, Im going to thank diabetes for a few things, like:

It takes guts to be a good mom. The easy way out for all parents, I think, is to let fear rule you. Diabetes pushed me to let go of fear, like the summer my daughter was six not yet even reading, and I dropped her off for two weeks at diabetes camp. I joke that I hid behind a tree for hours, popping out and yelling are you low??!! every few minutes that first day (not really but I did hang around for hours). Leaving her in the care of others, with barely any contact at all, took guts. And it taught me: she can be fine without me. I carried that courage over to the rest of my parenting life, not just with her, but with my daughter without diabetes

Nothing is more valuable than understanding what is a big deal and what isnt.

Things I used to sweat suddenly balanced out as not as big a deal. My kid didnt get the role she wanted in the middle school play? Hey, were all healthy and she can be perfectly happy in the chorus. Miss a birthday party because of a sickness? Life picks up and goes on the next day. Because diabetes is a never-ending practice of making the best of things (high? Well just fix it. Low? Weve got glucose tabs for that!), I learned as a mom to adopt that perspective in all my parenting moments (Okay most of them. I am a mere human). Over the years, things like getting (perhaps unfairly) cut from the soccer team became, instead of a world crisis, a paused, readjustment and chance to move forward.

Diabetes also taught me to reposition my own perspective. Its easy as a diabetes mom to feel sorry for yourself, to want to sink into the grief, anxiety and sometimes overwhelming duties attached to it all. But I learned early from teens and adults with diabetes themselves to change that view. Diabetes is not mine it is my childs. I dont live with it 24/7, she does. And until theres a cure, she always will. I had to learn that while my child is my heart, she is her own person and I am mine. I was not going to feel sorry for myself and not going to teach my daughter to feel sorry for herself.

Living with a chronic disease in your family opens your mind and heart to others who do as well. It also opens you to the realization that everyone even folks who dont have something like diabetes on boardsometimes are sad, hurt, scared, or overwhelmed by life. Sometimes, all someone needs is for you to let them know you know that.

Diabetes helped me see that. In the early years, someone who simply cared and let me know they felt empathy was like a balm to my wound. As I grew stronger, I realized as a mom knowing when to offer that balm to my own kids and my friends was a wonderful skill to have.

Diabetes helped me find my voice. Ive told my story make that my daughters story (perspective!) to senators, congressmen, even presidents. Ive stood on stages before thousands of people and movitated them to give money to JDRF and to do raise funds themselves. Ive ridden a bike 100 miles in one day through a desert, through three states, through a wind tunnel of marshes in northern Florida things I never thought Id have the power to do. Diabetes has pushed me to push my limits, to become more confident, to work harder, and to never give up. Thats a gift that serves me as a mother and as a human being. Diabetes helped me know I am stronger than I thought I was.

Diabetes has shown me how both my children the one with diabetes and the one without it can thrive in life despite it. It has introduced me to incredible friends. It has connected me to a world of true heroes. It has taken me places and taught me things I could never have learned without it.

So this Mothers Day, I thank diabetes for making me the mother I am today. Ill keep on working to banish diabetes from this earth, but until then, Ill continue to learn from it and soak up the very good from the very bad.

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5 Ways Diabetes Made Me A Better Mother - A Sweet Life (blog)