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Maternal gestational diabetes and childhood hyperlipidemia
Xiaoyun Yang1,2, Junhong Leng3, Huikun Liu3
1Chronic Disease Epidemiology Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
Insights
Children born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) face a higher risk of dyslipidemia. This includes lower high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and increased triglycerides/HDL ratio, indicating potential long-term cardiovascular issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects maternal metabolic health during pregnancy.
- Early life exposures can influence long-term offspring health outcomes, including metabolic profiles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the association between maternal GDM and dyslipidemia risk in offspring aged 3–9 years.
- To compare lipid profiles in children exposed to GDM in utero versus those not exposed.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 1144 mother-child pairs (572 GDM, 572 non-GDM), matched for offspring age and sex.
- Utilized general linear models to compare mean lipid profiles.
- Employed logistic regression to assess the association of maternal GDM with abnormal lipid profiles.
Main Results:
- Children of mothers with GDM exhibited significantly lower high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p < 0.001).
- Offspring exposed to GDM had a higher triglycerides/HDL cholesterol ratio (p < 0.05).
- Maternal GDM was linked to increased odds of low HDL (OR 2.11) and high triglycerides/HDL ratio (OR 1.35) in children.
Conclusions:
- Maternal GDM is associated with an elevated risk of dyslipidemia in early childhood.
- These findings highlight the importance of monitoring lipid profiles in children exposed to GDM.
- Early identification and management of dyslipidemia in this cohort may mitigate future cardiovascular risks.
Aims:
Aim of this study is to assess dyslipidemia risk between children exposed to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and those not exposed.
Methods:
We recruited 1144 mother-child pairs (572 GDM and 572 non-GDM women matched by their offspring's age and sex). The age of offspring ranged from 3 to 9 years old. We used general linear models to compare mean values of different lipid profiles among children born to mothers with and without GDM. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations of maternal GDM with abnormal lipid profiles in offspring.
Results:
After adjustment for maternal and children's characteristics, children born to mothers with GDM had lower mean values of high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (1.40 ± 0.01 vs. 1.50 ± 0.01; p < 0.001) and higher mean levels of triglycerides/HDL cholesterol ratio (0.37 ± 0.01 vs. 0.35 ± 0.01; p < 0.05) in comparison with their counterparts born to mothers without GDM. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios among children exposed to mothers with GDM compared with the counterparts were 2.11 (95% confidence interval [CI 1.15-3.88]) for low HDL cholesterol and 1.35 (95% CI 1.00-1.81) for high triglycerides/HDL cholesterol ratio, respectively.
Conclusions:
Maternal GDM was associated with an increased risk of hyperlipidemia in the offspring during early childhood aged from 3 to 9 years old.
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