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Gestational diabetes and offspring's growth from birth to 6 years old

Jing Wang1,2, Lei Pan1, Enqing Liu1

  • 1Tianjin Women's and Children's Health Center, Tianjin, 300070, China.

International Journal of Obesity (2005)
|September 6, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and abnormal glucose tolerance increase children's risk of higher BMI and overweight. Even mild glucose abnormalities in pregnancy warrant attention for maternal and child health.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a significant pregnancy complication.
  • Maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy is linked to adverse offspring outcomes.
  • Understanding the long-term impact of maternal glucose levels on child development is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare BMI growth in children exposed to maternal GDM versus unexposed offspring.
  • To assess the association between maternal hyperglycemia and childhood overweight risk from ages 1 to 6.
  • To identify specific maternal glucose screening results that indicate increased risk.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based cohort study utilizing healthcare records from 27,155 mother-child pairs.
  • Mothers underwent GDM screening during pregnancy.
  • Children's BMI Z-scores and overweight risk were analyzed from ages 1 to 6.

Main Results:

  • Children of mothers with abnormal glucose (GDM, abnormal GCT, or abnormal OGTT) exhibited higher mean BMI-for-age Z-scores at multiple ages (1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 years).
  • Maternal abnormal glucose was associated with an increased risk of childhood overweight (adjusted hazard ratios ranging from 1.07 to 1.10).
  • These associations remained significant after adjusting for maternal and child characteristics.

Conclusions:

  • Abnormal maternal glucose tolerance during pregnancy is an independent risk factor for elevated childhood BMI and overweight from 1 to 6 years.
  • Mothers with positive glucose challenge test (GCT) but normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results require closer health monitoring.
  • Increased attention to the health of mothers with abnormal glucose tolerance and their offspring is recommended.
Abstract

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