One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, after diagnoses of the condition rose by 60 per cent in just five years, according to a major study.

The research found that rates of gestational diabetes increased from around 8 per cent of pregnancies in 2018 to more than 12 per cent in 2022.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) develops when the body cannot produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

It is the most common complication to occur during pregnancy and is associated with a heightened risk of preterm birth, emergency caesarean section, and babies being born either larger or smaller than expected for their gestational age.

The condition is also linked to longer-term health risks for both mothers and their children.

Laura Magee is professor of women’s health at King’s College London and co-investigator on the study.

She said: “Pregnancy outcomes for women with gestational diabetes are still worse than those for women without gestational diabetes.

“Further work is required to address how control of blood sugar and timed birth can address the excess of adverse pregnancy outcomes, compared with the general maternity population.

“Follow-up after birth is also essential, as women with prior gestational diabetes are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, but also high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol, starting within the first year after birth.”

For the study, researchers analysed routinely collected NHS maternity data covering more than 2.3 million mothers and around 2.8 million births across 184 hospitals in England between 2018 and 2022, making it one of the largest investigations of its kind.

The study uncovered marked inequalities in both the prevalence of gestational diabetes and pregnancy outcomes more broadly.

The sharpest rises in diagnoses were recorded among Asian women, among whom rates reached around 23 per cent, and among women living in the most deprived areas, where rates climbed to about 14 per cent.

The disparities extended beyond gestational diabetes.

Black mothers were found to be more likely to experience an emergency caesarean birth, women in deprived areas were more likely to give birth prematurely, and Asian mothers were more likely to have babies born small for their gestational age.

Among these higher-risk groups, researchers found that a diagnosis of gestational diabetes further compounded the risk of preterm birth.

Rising maternal age, increasing rates of obesity and improvements in how data is captured by the NHS are all likely to be contributing to the growing prevalence of the condition, the researchers said.

Notably, they found that changes to gestational diabetes screening introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic did not meaningfully affect the overall upward trend in diagnoses, suggesting the rise reflects genuine underlying changes in the population rather than shifts in testing practice.

The researchers said the findings pointed to an urgent need to strengthen maternity services and improve support for the women at greatest risk.

Experts said the findings also carried implications that extend well beyond pregnancy itself.

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, said the study was part of a wider pattern of research using large-scale health data to uncover hidden risks.

“Big data research studies like this, which can now analyse millions of healthcare records, are uncovering a concerning rise in conditions which raise people’s chances of having a future heart attack or stroke,” she said.

“Gestational diabetes often goes away after pregnancy, but it can increase women’s risk of future cardiovascular disease.”

Dr Babu-Narayan called on healthcare professionals to routinely ask women about pregnancy-related risk factors, regardless of how long ago the pregnancy took place.

“Healthcare professionals who want to fully understand people’s risk of heart attack and stroke should routinely ask women about risk factors unique to them, such as diabetes or high blood pressure in pregnancy – even if that pregnancy was decades earlier,” she said.

“If you are a woman who has had diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy, it is especially important to attend health checks when invited.”

Researchers in the US have developed a new tool designed to identify women at risk of heart disease much earlier than existing methods allow.

The findings, published in the journal JACC: Advances, highlight significant gaps in the risk assessment approaches currently used in clinical practice.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, yet existing risk tools were developed in older populations and ignore factors unique to women,” said senior author Robert Platt, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health and director of the School of Population and Global Health.

He noted that while pregnancy complications are known to be linked to future heart risk, there has until now been no reliable way of identifying which younger women are most at risk.

To build the tool, researchers analysed health data from more than 260,000 women in the UK aged between 15 and 45 who had given birth.

The team developed and validated a prediction model to estimate future heart disease risk, following participants for nearly four years after delivery.

The model identified several factors not included in existing risk tools that can help predict a woman’s likelihood of developing heart disease.

These include hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), depression, thyroid disorders, oral contraceptive use and social deprivation.

The findings suggest that some women, particularly younger women often dismissed as low risk, may in fact face a higher risk of heart disease earlier than previously recognised.

“Millions of women who give birth each year are never considered candidates for cardiovascular risk assessment simply because of their age,” said co-author Kristian Filion, professor in the Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health.

He added that if integrated into routine postpartum care, the tool could enable earlier monitoring, lifestyle counselling or referral to a specialist, potentially helping to prevent a heart attack or stroke later in life.

The research team’s next step is to validate the model using data from Canada and the United States.

In the longer term, they hope to integrate a practical calculator into electronic health records, allowing higher-risk patients to be identified and supported earlier.

Flexible working could help more women entrepreneurs become leaders of family firms by making it easier to balance work and family life, new research suggests.

Digital workplace tools may allow women to take a greater role in strategic decision-making and other leadership duties while maintaining family responsibilities. the report found.

They could also challenge the assumption that effective leaders must always be physically present at work.

Co-author Professor Kirk Chang said: “Technology such as Microsoft Teams and cloud-based collaboration platforms can create new opportunities for talented women to demonstrate leadership. But lasting change depends on family businesses judging leaders by their performance rather than their physical presence.”

Researchers from the University of East London say tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace and cloud-based business systems can shift the focus from office attendance to measurable performance.

Cloud-based systems are online services that give employees remote access to documents, software and business information.

Family businesses are often considered family-friendly employers, but women can still face barriers to senior positions.

Leadership in these companies often passes between generations through informal family decisions rather than formal recruitment.

Traditional expectations around gender roles can make it harder for women with caring responsibilities to be seen as potential successors, particularly when being visible in the workplace is treated as a sign of commitment.

The researchers say digital workplace technology could make women’s contributions more visible while helping them manage work and family responsibilities.

Their proposed framework sets out four ways digital working could support women’s progression: building confidence, creating opportunities to take part in strategic decisions, increasing business knowledge and changing perceptions of who is ready to lead.

The authors stress that technology alone will not remove the barriers women face in reaching leadership roles. Family businesses must also develop cultures that value results over physical presence and actively support women pursuing senior positions.

Dr Ozlem Ozdemir, from the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, said: “Family businesses are built around close relationships, but that does not automatically make them easier places for women to become leaders. It can be tougher for women family members to be seen as ambitious professionals.

“Digital workplace tools can help shift the focus from who is seen most often in the office to who is making the strongest contribution.”

The paper draws its conclusions from existing research and proposes a framework showing how digital workplace innovation may improve work-life balance and support more women to become future leaders in family businesses.