Islamabad-High levels of salt consumption may increase an adult’s risk of developing diabetes, researchers say.

The new study included data from a few thousand people in Sweden. The findings showed that salt intake was associated with an average 65 percent increase in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes for each 2.5 extra grams of salt (slightly less than half a teaspoon) consumed per day.

People with the highest salt intake (about 1.25 teaspoons of salt or higher) were 72 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake, the investigators found.

The study, led by Bahareh Rasouli of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was scheduled for presentation Thursday at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The current study didn’t look at how salt might increase the risk of diabetes. But the researchers suggested that increasing salt intake may spur insulin resistance, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes. Or, it could be that salt intake was related to a higher weight. The study can’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship, only an association.

High salt consumption was also associated with a significantly increased risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, a form of type 1 diabetes that develops very slowly and appears in adulthood. Meanwhile, another research suggests a pregnant mother sleeping on her back during late pregnancy may cause problems for the foetus. This is the first study to monitor unborn babies overnight and at the same time record the mother’s position during sleep.

The sleep position of women in late pregnancy has been shown to be related to an increased risk of late stillbirth (after 28 weeks gestation).

Researchers at the University of Auckland investigated sleep position of pregnant women by setting up an infrared video camera to record their position as they slept. They also continuous recorded the heart rate of the women and foetus overnight using an ECG device. When the mother slept on her back, the foetus was less active. Foetal activity is one measure of its wellbeing. Foetus was only in an active state when the mother was on her left or right side.

When the mother changed position during sleep, for example from her left side to sleeping on her back, the baby quickly changed activity state and became quiet or still.

This research involved 30 pregnant women at 34-38 weeks gestation and all of them were healthy with healthy babies. The researchers are now investigating pregnancies where the foetus is not growing properly or the mother has reported decreased foetal movements, as both situations have been associated with an increased risk of stillbirth.

Peter Stone, one of the lead investigators on the study said, ‘In the situation where the baby may not be healthy, such as those with poor growth, the baby may not tolerate the effect of maternal back sleeping. We are suggesting that there is now sufficient evidence to recommend mothers avoid sleeping on their back in late pregnancy, not only because of the epidemiological data but also because we have shown it has a clear effect on the baby.’