Rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing at twice the pace in younger women compared to older age groups, a new analysis reveals. Diabetes UK attributes this alarming trend largely to insufficient postnatal follow-up care for women who experience gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes occurs when pregnant women cannot produce enough insulin, causing elevated blood sugar levels. While the condition usually resolves after childbirth, it significantly raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
Data from Diabetes UK shows that between 2017/18 and 2023/24, diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in women under 40 soared by 47%, in contrast to a 22% rise among women aged 40 to 79. This disparity is tied to a lack of ongoing monitoring and care after pregnancy for GD patients—a condition affecting 10% to 20% of pregnant women.
Current guidelines recommend that women with GD undergo HbA1c blood tests to assess their average blood sugar levels between six and thirteen weeks postpartum, followed by annual tests thereafter. However, NHS England’s inaugural gestational diabetes audit, published last year, found only 57% of women received the recommended annual HbA1c test after pregnancy.
The audit also reported that 11% of women with GD developed prediabetes within one year, and 15% progressed to type 2 diabetes within a decade. Colette Marshall, CEO of Diabetes UK, emphasized the urgency: “These figures are a stark warning. Type 2 diabetes is escalating twice as fast in younger women, and critical opportunities for prevention are being missed. When diabetes manifests earlier in life, it tends to be more severe.”
Marshall added, “Pregnancy should not be a pathway to long-term health problems. Yet, despite the clear elevated risk, many women with gestational diabetes receive inadequate follow-up care.”
Personal stories highlight the gap in care. Meg, 33, from Somerset, who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy in 2020, has yet to receive postnatal diabetes assessments six years later. “I was given no information about my increased risk of type 2 diabetes or prevention strategies," she said. “Even though I’m high-risk due to gestational diabetes, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and family history, there were no follow-up tests after birth. Knowing more would have helped me feel supported both physically and mentally.”
In response, Diabetes UK has appealed to women’s health minister Baroness Merron, urging swift action to improve postnatal support for women who develop gestational diabetes. Marshall concluded, “As the government implements its health strategy, it must prioritize comprehensive care for women with gestational diabetes to curb this rising trend.”
Currently, around 4.7 million people in the UK live with diagnosed diabetes, but Diabetes UK estimates nearly 1.3 million more have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, underlining the need for preventative care.