skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, July 14, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

9 dead, more than 30 injured in MA fire at Fall River senior living facility; West Virginia's health care system strained further under GOP bill; EV incentives will quickly expire. What happens next? NC university considers the future of AI in classrooms.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

FEMA's Texas flood response gets more criticism for unanswered calls. Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego-Garcia want guidance about a potential second deportation. And new polls show not as many Americans are worried about the state of democracy.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Americans brace for disproportionate impact of federal funding cuts to mental health, substance use programs, and new federal policies have farmers from Ohio to Minnesota struggling to grow healthier foods and create sustainable food production programs.

TN's High Diabetes Rate Raises Concerns for Pregnant Women

play audio
Play

Monday, October 29, 2018   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – National Diabetes Month starts this week, and more than 1 in 10 Tennesseans is diabetic.

At 11 percent, the state has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While diabetes can affect people of all age groups, experts are particularly concerned about gestational diabetes in women, or abnormal blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

An increasing body of research indicates the problem doesn't stop when the baby is born, says Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, so it's important to take precautions.

"Women with a history of gestational diabetes can take modest but important steps for themselves and their children to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes,” he advises. “Keep up healthy habits. See a dietician or a diabetic educator to guide them."

Rodgers says about half of all women who had gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes later in life, and their children have a greater chance of becoming obese.

He recommends women and their families work to maintain healthy weights, with good nutrition and daily exercise.

Rodgers says the CDC doesn't keep specific data for gestational diabetes, but it stands to reason that with a high rate of diabetes in Tennessee, the trend would include pregnant moms.

"In general, there's a fairly good correlation between the prevalence of the disease in the state and the likelihood that the women in the state would follow that rate," he states.

Diabetes can lead to such serious health problems as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and limb amputations.

Experts believe as many as 161,000 Tennesseans have diabetes, but are un-diagnosed.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Research shows when federal funding for Medicaid decreases, states tend to cut optional benefits, such as home- and community-based services, first. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A Wisconsin nonprofit serving people with disabilities is waiting to hear if federal changes to Medicaid will affect their clients and caregivers…


play sound

By Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collabora…

Social Issues

play sound

Uncertainty about the current job market is influencing high school graduates' choices for a career. Parents are generally the go-to for guidance…


Lancaster secured a record $12.7 million federal grant in 2023 to eliminate serious traffic injuries and deaths by 2030, one of just 37 U.S. cities awarded funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Christian Hinkle/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The mayor of Lancaster, Pennsylvania is voicing concerns about the state budget delay, warning it could affect the city's more than 58,000 residents…

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 3.5 million Texans utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase food. The budget reconciliation bill recently signed …

Washington state has the world's largest public port system. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Environmental advocates are urging Washington state lawmakers to require cargo ships to plug in while in port. The Port of Seattle will require all …

Environment

play sound

A new documentary looked at ways to reduce the human and environmental harms stemming from the mining of "critical minerals." Without minerals like c…

Environment

play sound

Wisconsin's agriculture industry could see both wins and losses under the new federal budget. Climate change isn't a priority for the Trump …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021