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The association between maternal diabetes, antidiabetic medication use, and severe ADHD requiring inpatient care: A

Yitayish Damtie1, Kim Betts2, Berihun Assefa Dachew3

  • 1School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Australia; Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Injibara University, Injibara, Ethiopia.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research
|June 4, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Maternal diabetes and antidiabetic medication use during pregnancy did not increase the risk of severe Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Further research is needed to confirm the long-term neurodevelopmental safety of these medications.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Limited evidence exists on the association between maternal antidiabetic medication use and child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
  • This study investigated the link between maternal diabetes, medication use, and severe Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between maternal diabetes during pregnancy and the risk of severe ADHD in children.
  • To assess the relationship between maternal antidiabetic medication use and offspring ADHD risk.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized linked health administrative data from New South Wales, Australia.
  • Identified maternal diabetes, antidiabetic medication use, and offspring ADHD using ICD-10-AM codes.
  • Employed binary logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main Results:

  • Analyzed 229,785 mother-offspring pairs.
  • Maternal diabetes (any, GDM, pre-existing) was not associated with increased severe ADHD risk (e.g., any diabetes AOR=1.10, 95% CI: 0.84-1.45).
  • Antidiabetic medication use during pregnancy showed no significant link to ADHD (OR=1.17, 95% CI: 0.66-2.06).

Conclusions:

  • Findings do not support the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to antidiabetic medications independently increases severe ADHD risk.
  • Further research is necessary to fully understand the long-term neurodevelopmental safety of maternal antidiabetic medications.
Abstract

Keywords:
ADHDAntidiabetic medicationsGestational diabetesInsulinMaternal diabetesOral hypoglycemic agentsPre-existing diabetes

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