As Health Threats of the Diabetes-Obesity Epidemic Increase, Two Leading OB-GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Experts Publish New Book on Diabetes and Obesity in Women

UM School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece and Brown University Professor Donald Coustan Release Practical Guide for Physicians, as National Diabetes Month Draws Attention to Growing Threat

With diabetes and obesity continuing to escalate at alarming rates in the U.S., particularly among women, a new book has been published that provides the most comprehensive, expert coverage of this urgent topic to date.

The book, Diabetes & Obesity in Women: Adolescence, Pregnancy and Menopause, Fourth Edition (Wolters Kluwer), is authored by two of the leading senior academic physician-scientists in the field of diabetes and obesity: E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Donald R. Coustan, MD, is Professor and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, as well as Attending Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist Emeritus at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI.

Leading Experts

1. Reece is an internationally recognized leader in the study of diabetes. He holds a faculty appointment in the UMSOM Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences as well as in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and directs an NIH multi-million dollar funded research laboratory group studying the bio-molecular mechanisms of diabetes-induced birth defects. He has published extensively in the scientific literature: 12 books including revisions; 5 monographs; and more than 500 articles, chapters, and abstracts. 
2. Coustan is a longtime leading expert on the management of diabetes in pregnancy and is the author of more than 200 research papers and scholarly publications. He was chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School from 1991 to 2008.

In the book, which targets primary care physicians, OB/GYNs, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and endocrinologists, the authors provide a readable, practical guide, covering women across the lifespan, with an emphasis placed on the childbearing years. The book can be obtained in print form, and also in e-book form which enables readers to view on computer, tablet or smart-phone, and is available on www.amazon.com.

Devastating Growth of Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes kills more Americans each year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), illustrates the devastating growth of the disease:

Globally, according to the CDC, the number of people with diabetes was estimated to be 425 million in 2017. In the latest U.S. data available (2015), some 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population, had diabetes. Of those, 23.1 million were diagnosed, and 7.2 million were undiagnosed. According to the authors, “Despite the current emphasis on earlier diagnosis and initiation of treatment, approximately 24 percent of individuals are unaware that they have the disease.” More than 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year. Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2015, with 79,535 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause of death, and a total of 252,806 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying or contributing cause of diabetes. The book reports an economic impact of $327 billion in the U.S. in 2017, more than a 33 percent increase since 2012.

“We are witnessing an alarming increase of diabetes and obesity in the adolescent,” said Dr. Reece. “’Diabestiy’ is the combined condition is often referred to, is a major global health issue for all, but especially for women of childbearing age, whose health during pregnancy can deeply influence the long-term health of her children.”

Practical and Accessible Content

The authors take the disease and its impact head on, by providing practical and accessible content on the following: 

• The latest information on drug treatment options, dietary management, and long-term care of complications;
• Detailed guidelines on management of diabetes, pregnancy complicated by pre-existing diabetes and obesity and peripartum and neonatal care;
• Prenatal diagnosis of abnormal fetal growth, congenital malformations, and diabetes and obesity in stillbirth;
• Features hundreds of clear line drawings and quick-reference tables that clarify key information.

“The enormous increase in both our understanding and knowledge has proved beneficial in fostering new management strategies for women of all ages with diabetes,” Dean Reece commented. “Technology, monitoring, quality of care and up-to-date guidance and information expand the scope of this new edition.”

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically-based care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500 students, residents, and fellows, and more than $530 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total workforce of nearly 7,000 individuals. The combined School and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu/