Diabetes and women's health

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the implementation of precision medicine in diabetes. Gender is an important determinant of health, and there are numerous characteristics of diabetes in women that can be taken into account for the implementation of precision medicine in diabetes. Furthermore, better appreciation of the unique clinical characteristics of diabetes in women, especially in relation to the lifecourse perspective of a woman's life, would greatly enhance public health efforts to address diabetes and its associated risk factors, and to improve the lives of women and the next generation. These include the unique challenges and opportunities linked with polycystic ovary syndrome, gestational diabetes, other pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, and the potential impact of these diagnoses in the offspring of affected women. In this review article, we will summarize some of these key aspects of how diabetes intersects with women's health, and how a holistic, integrative, and lifecourse approach to diabetes and women's health can have a significant impact well beyond just the benefits of achieving better glucose control for the women living with diabetes, but more importantly, toward improved prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases on a population level.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Gestational diabetes; Pregnancy.