@article {1193, title = {Parity and the association with diabetes in older women.}, journal = {Diabetes Care}, volume = {33}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Aug}, pages = {1778-82}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of parity with diabetes and markers of glucose homeostasis in older women.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used data from the female participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of adults aged >or=65 years. These data included an assessment of parity (baseline) and fasting serum levels of glucose, insulin, and medication use (baseline and follow-up). We estimated both the cross-sectional relationship of parity with baseline diabetes and the relationship of parity with incident diabetes.

RESULTS: In unadjusted analyses, women with grand multiparity (>or=5 live births) had a higher prevalence of diabetes at baseline compared with those with fewer births and with nulliparous women (25 vs. 12 vs. 15\%; P < 0.001). In regression models controlling for age and race, grand multiparity was associated with increased prevalence of diabetes (prevalence ratio 1.57 [95\% CI 1.20-2.06]); with addition of demographic and clinical factors to the model, the association was attenuated (1.33 [1.00-1.77]). In final models that included body anthropometrics, the association was no longer significant (1.21 [0.86-1.49]). In those without diabetes at baseline, parity was not associated with incident diabetes or with fasting glucose; however, there was a modest association of parity with fasting insulin and homeostasis assessment model of insulin resistance.

CONCLUSIONS: Grand multiparity is associated with diabetes in elderly women in cross-sectional analyses. This relationship seems to be confounded and/or mediated by variation in body weight and sociodemographic factors by parity status. In older nondiabetic women, higher parity does not pose an ongoing risk of developing diabetes.

}, keywords = {Aged, Body Weight, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Humans, Parity, Pregnancy, Socioeconomic Factors}, issn = {1935-5548}, doi = {10.2337/dc10-0015}, author = {Fowler-Brown, Angela G and de Boer, Ian H and Catov, Janet M and Carnethon, Mercedes R and Kamineni, Aruna and Kuller, Lewis H and Siscovick, David S and Mukamal, Kenneth J} }