Type 2 diabetes can affect anyone, but there are certain health conditions that could put you at higher risk.
That’s especially important for Black women, who face a disproportionately high burden of type 2 diabetes in the United States. Understanding the factors that may increase your risk can help you have more informed conversations with your health care provider about screening, prevention and early intervention.
None of these conditions means you will definitely develop diabetes. But if you’ve been diagnosed with one of them, it may be worth understanding how it could affect your long-term health.
Let’s look at three conditions you should know about.
RELATED: 5 Concerns Black Women With Endometriosis Face – And What to Do!
A major study — published Aug. 6 in the journal Diabetologia — finds women with endometriosis face a 46 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
“Previous studies largely evaluated endometriosis as a single condition and generally reported little or no overall association with type 2 diabetes,” said lead author Fuzak Nunziato, a doctoral student in epidemiology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
“Our findings add to a growing understanding that endometriosis may affect more than reproductive health alone,” she added in a news release.
For the study, researchers analyzed health records from nearly three million women over a 25-year span, comparing diabetes risk in those with and without endometriosis.
The condition occurs when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus.
The study found diabetes risk was highest in women whose endometriosis extended beyond the pelvic region, as well as premenopausal women and those without obesity — groups not usually flagged as high-risk for diabetes.
Researchers suspect chronic inflammation associated with endometriosis may play a role, but say more research is needed.
They stress the findings show a link but do not prove that endometriosis causes diabetes.
If confirmed, the findings could help identify women who may benefit from earlier diabetes screening or prevention strategies.
Still, the findings raise an important question for women living with endometriosis: Should blood sugar be part of the conversation about your overall health?
If you have endometriosis, talk with your health care provider about your individual risk factors and whether diabetes screening is appropriate for you.
RELATED: PCOS Has a New Name: Here’s Why That Matters for Black Women
Endometriosis isn’t the only reproductive health condition that has been linked to metabolic health.
Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS, is a hormonal disorder that can affect ovulation, menstrual cycles, fertility and hormone levels. But its effects can extend beyond reproductive health.
One reason PMOS matters when it comes to diabetes is insulin resistance.
Insulin is a hormone that helps move glucose, or sugar, from your bloodstream into your cells, where it can be used for energy. When your body becomes resistant to insulin, your cells don’t respond to the hormone as effectively. Your pancreas may compensate by producing more insulin.
Over time, insulin resistance can contribute to elevated blood sugar, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Not every woman with PMOS has insulin resistance, and having PMOS doesn’t mean you will develop diabetes. However, the connection is significant enough that blood sugar screening may be an important part of managing the condition.
PMOS can also be difficult to recognize because symptoms can vary considerably from one woman to another. Irregular periods, excess facial or body hair, acne, hair thinning and difficulty becoming pregnant can all occur with PMOS, although these symptoms aren’t exclusive to the condition.
If you’ve been diagnosed with PMOS — or suspect you may have it — ask your health care provider about your blood sugar and diabetes risk.
RELATED: What Every Black Woman Needs To Know About Gestational Diabetes
A third condition that deserves attention is gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy.
Pregnancy naturally causes changes in the way the body uses insulin. For some women, the body can’t produce enough insulin to keep up with those changes, causing blood sugar levels to rise.
Gestational diabetes often goes away after the baby is born. But the diagnosis shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as something that is completely behind you once pregnancy ends.
Having gestational diabetes can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
That’s why postpartum follow-up is so important.
Women who have had gestational diabetes should talk with their health care provider about recommended blood sugar testing after pregnancy and ongoing screening. Your provider can also help you understand other factors that may affect your risk, including family history, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, physical activity and other aspects of your health.
And if you’ve had gestational diabetes more than once, make sure your health care provider knows about your history.
At first glance, endometriosis, PMOS and gestational diabetes may seem unrelated. One primarily affects reproductive tissue, another involves hormones and metabolism, and the third occurs during pregnancy.
But they can intersect with processes that influence the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar.
Inflammation, insulin resistance and hormonal changes are among the factors researchers are examining when trying to understand these relationships.
That doesn’t mean that having one of these conditions automatically puts you on a path toward diabetes. Instead, your medical history can provide another piece of information when you and your health care provider are assessing your overall risk.
One of the challenges with type 2 diabetes is that it can develop gradually. Some people have few noticeable symptoms — particularly in the early stages.
When symptoms do occur, they can include increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, increased hunger and unexplained changes in weight. But you shouldn’t necessarily wait until you notice symptoms before talking with your doctor about your risk.
This is particularly important for people who have risk factors for diabetes.
If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis, PMOS or gestational diabetes, consider asking:
Knowing your numbers can also give you a clearer picture of your health. Depending on your circumstances, your provider may recommend tests such as an A1C, fasting blood glucose or an oral glucose tolerance test.
It’s also important not to turn diabetes prevention into a conversation about blame.
Developing type 2 diabetes isn’t simply a matter of whether someone “ate well enough” or “exercised enough.” Genetics, family history, age, hormones, medical conditions, pregnancy history and access to health care can all influence risk.
If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis, PMOS or gestational diabetes, the goal isn’t to become fearful of developing diabetes. Instead, it’s to use that information to become more proactive about your health.
That may mean keeping up with recommended screenings, staying physically active in ways that work for you, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and taking medications as prescribed when they’re recommended.
Most importantly, it means having conversations with your health care team before a problem becomes more difficult to manage.
Endometriosis, PMOS and gestational diabetes are different conditions, but all three can be important to consider when looking at a woman’s long-term risk for type 2 diabetes.
The new endometriosis research adds another potential connection between reproductive health and metabolic health. While the findings don’t prove that endometriosis causes diabetes, they suggest that the relationship deserves a closer look.
If you’ve experienced any of these conditions, don’t panic — and don’t assume that diabetes is inevitable.
Instead, know your risk, know your numbers and talk with your health care provider about whether earlier or regular diabetes screening makes sense for you. Catching blood sugar problems early can give you more opportunities to address them and protect your health for years to come.
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