Moms who don't breastfeed more likely to develop diabetes

A new study says that mothers who don not breastfeed their babies are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

The study was conducted by University of Pittsburgh.

Reports quoting said Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh said diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes. But a few people realize that breastfeeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat.

The study was conducted in 2,233 women between the ages of 40 and 78. Twenty-seven percent of mothers who did not breastfeed developed type 2 diabetes and were almost twice as likely to develop the disease as women who had breastfed or never given birth.

On the other hand, mothers who breastfed their children were not likely to develop diabetes than women who never gave birth.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Medicine.

Insufficient sleep contributes to diabetes

Sleeping and diabetes are related. Short sleep is known to contribute to the development of insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance. This has been established by a new study, which has been published in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The researchers subjected a group of healthy middle-aged men and women to two 14-day period of controlled living with free access to food and 5.5 or 8.5 hour of sleep.

It was seen that when the sleeping hours was reduced from 8.5 hours to 5.5 hours, they showed changes in their response to two common sugar tests, which were seen to be similar to those seen in those with an increased risk of developing diabetes.

Plamen Penev of the University of Chicago and a senior author of the study has said that the westernised style combined with reduced sleep might contribute to the increased risk of many overweight and sedentary individuals developing diabetes.

He says it is not just a healthy life style and healthy eating habit that is needed to control diabetes, but one should also have good sleep.

Moms and diabetes

Depression is related to pregnant women and new moms with diabetes. Earlier studies have shown the relation between diabetes and depression in the general population. Well, researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the University Of Minnesota School Of Public Health have come out with a revelation that depression is related to pregnant women and new moms who are diabetic.

The researchers came to the conclusion after looking at information from 11,024 new mothers. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

They found that 9.6 per cent of diabetic women, who had no indication of depression, showed symptoms of it after the delivery. While the percentage was 5.9 in non-diabetic women.

Depression has been a great thereat to the society. Well, this study, the researchers believe could help in identifying and treating moms with depression.