Are pregnancy-associated hypertensive disorders so sweet?

Worldwide, one in seven pregnancies is complicated by some form of diabetes, with a rising trend. Additionally, hypertension is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality for both the pregnant woman and the fetus and also contributes to premature birth. In a cohort study of pregnant women with diabetes, which was recently published in this journal, at least 84.5% of the subjects had hypertension. This rate of hypertension might be among the highest reported thus far. In the medical literature, approximately 20% of women with diabetes during pregnancy have various pregnancy-associated hypertensive disorders. Racial/ethnic differences, apparently, were not implicated in this elevated rate of hypertension: Although black and Hispanic women have a twofold higher rate of hypertension in pregnancy compared to white women, 75% of the subjects in the study in question were white. Thus, the impressive finding delivered by this large study, merits additional clarifications.