Gestational Diabetes as Part of Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Gestational diabetes is becoming more common at the same time as the obesity epidemic, both in Finland and worldwide [1]. Pregnancy, and especially in its latter half, is associated with severe insulin resistance. High levels of body fat increase insulin resistance, which disrupts glucose metabolism, especially in obese women. In Finland, one in five pregnant women is diagnosed with gestational diabetes [2]. As a result of obesity and insulin resistance, fat often accumulates outside the actual adipose tissue as ectopic fat. One target organ for such fat is the liver, often resulting in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).