Causes

Causes ( 6 Questions)

Question 1 :

A nurse is teaching a pregnant woman about gestational diabetes.

Which of the following statements by the nurse is correct?



Correct Answer: C

The correct answer is choice C. Gestational diabetes is caused by a hormonal imbalance that reduces insulin sensitivity.

Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy and control blood glucose levels. During pregnancy, the body makes special hormones and goes through other changes that can make the cells less responsive to insulin, a condition called insulin resistance. Most pregnant women can produce enough insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but some cannot and develop gestational diabetes.

Choice A is wrong because gestational diabetes is not caused by an autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells. This is the cause of type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in childhood or adolescence.

Choice B is wrong because gestational diabetes is not caused by a genetic mutation that impairs insulin secretion. This is the cause of some rare forms of diabetes, such as maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) or neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM).

Choice D is wrong because gestational diabetes is not caused by a viral infection that damages the insulin receptors. This is not a known cause of any type of diabetes.

Normal ranges for blood glucose levels during pregnancy are 3.5 to 5.9 mmol/L before meals and less than 7.8 mmol/L one hour after meals.


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