A Mystery About Diabetes in Pregnancy
Researchers are investigating a significant increase in gestational diabetes rates among Chinese American populations, which appears to exceed trends seen in other groups. This rise has raised concerns as gestational diabetes can lead to serious health complications for both mothers and their children. Experts are seeking federal funding to study this phenomenon and develop targeted interventions for Asian American communities.
- ▪Gestational diabetes rates are rising among Chinese American populations, mirroring trends in mainland China and Taiwan.
- ▪This increase is occurring at a rate that outpaces the rise in type 2 diabetes within the same population.
- ▪Experts believe that the rise in gestational diabetes among Asian Americans is largely undocumented and may be linked to unique physiological factors.
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HealthA Mystery About Diabetes in PregnancyOne group is an outlier for gestational-diabetes risk, and no one can yet say why.By Katherine J. WuIllustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.May 27, 2026, 8 AM ET ShareSave For the past few years, George King, the director of research at Boston’s Joslin Diabetes Center, has been following a medical mystery that has flown under the public-health radar—even, he told me, among most other diabetes experts. He and his colleagues have been alarmed by the skyrocketing rates of gestational diabetes they’ve seen among Chinese American populations, which mirror a similar phenomenon in mainland China and Taiwan.For years, gestational diabetes has been ticking upward in people of Asian descent—both in countries in Asia and in highly multicultural nations…
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