Supplement may reduce gestational diabetes risk in some women, study finds

NEW YORK — A nutritional supplement may help ward off gestational diabetes in pregnant women, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at Italy's University of Messina and published in the journal Diabetes Care, found that pregnant women with family histories of Type 2 diabetes who received myo-inositol saw a significant reduction in the incidence of gestational diabetes, a condition that causes high blood sugar in some pregnant women.

A group of 220 women was split into two halves, one of which received the supplement with 200 micrograms of folic acid twice per day, and a placebo group that only received the folic acid.

Among those who received myo-inositol, the incidence of gestational diabetes was 6%, compared with 15.3% of those in the placebo group. The researchers concluded that the supplement may reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes in women with a family history of Type 2 diabetes while also possibly reducing the risk of delivering abnormally large babies, also known as macrosomia.

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