Day: January 31, 2014

Screen All Pregnant Women For Gestational Diabetes: Panel

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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advises that all pregnant women who have not been previously diagnosed with diabetes, regardless of whether they have risk factors or not, should be given a blood test to screen for gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes which occurs during pregnancy. The condition affects 18% of all preganancy and can results in serious complications to the mother and infant if left untreated. The basis for this recommendation to screen all pregnancies came from several large randomized trials that have found substantial reductions in pregnancy-related outcomes in treating gestational diabetes, even in mild forms.

Often, women with gestational diabetes are at higher risk of having diabetes later on in life, after the pregnancy. Evidence also suggests that children born to women with gestational diabetes are at higher risks of having diabetes later on in life as well. Early diagnosis and active intervention is the key to reducing debilitating complications associated with diabetes.

Many Singaporeans Unaware They Have High Cholesterol

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A study, conducted from 2004 to 2007 by the National University Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, with some 5,000 Singaporeans showed that 48.1 per cent had high cholesterol. But 17.3 per cent were unaware of their condition until they were tested during the study.

Leaving high cholesterol untreated increases the risk of debilitating heart attacks and strokes. Some patients remain reluctant to take statins (a class of medication used to treat hypercholesterolaemia), for fear of side effects such as liver inflammation and muscle aches. However these side effects are fairly uncommon and generally reversible upon cessation of the medication. Moreover, whenever a doctor makes a recommendation for a patient to go on medication, an assessment as to what the relative risk and benefit is, would have been made. And the doctor will make a recommendation for treatment when the benefit is clearly greater than the risk. Hypercholesterolaemia is a highly treatable condition, often with significant reduction of vascular risk upon treatment. It is advisable for patients to go for regular screening and actively discuss treatment options with their doctors for this common and potentially hazardous condition.