In Diabetes Care this month, researchers report that exposure to agricultural pesticides in the first-trimester increases a woman's risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy.

Researchers assessed the risk of developing gestational diabetes following pesticide exposures among over 11,200 wives of farmers enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study. Within 25 years of entering the study, 4.5% of women who became pregnant reported having gestational diabetes. Overall, 57% of women reported having mixed or applied pesticides at some time in their life, and the proportion was similar for those with and without gestational diabetes mellitus. Women who mixed or applied pesticides or repaired pesticide-related equipment during the first trimester of pregnancy had a more than twofold increased risk of developing gestational diabetes. There was no increased gestational diabetes risk among women with residential exposures to pesticides or indirect exposures during the first trimester.

With the rate of diabetes diagnosis rising, whether it is type 1, type 2 or gestational - understanding the potential effects of environmental exposure on glucose levels is critical to comprehensively addressing the core problem. The jury is still out on deciphering what environmental offense should be sentenced for the crime.