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Intellectual development of offspring of diabetic mothers
Y Yamashita1, Y Kawano, N Kuriya
1Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
Insights
Children born to diabetic mothers showed lower intellectual development at age three. Maternal age was inversely correlated with infant IQ in offspring of diabetic mothers, unlike controls.
Area of Science:
- Perinatology
- Developmental Psychology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Maternal diabetes can impact fetal development.
- Understanding long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the intellectual development of children born to diabetic mothers.
- To compare their cognitive outcomes with children of non-diabetic mothers.
Main Methods:
- Prospective evaluation of 33 offspring of diabetic mothers (ODMs) and 34 controls.
- Intelligence testing using Tanaka-Binet at 3 years of age.
- Analysis of correlations between IQ, maternal age, and HbA1c levels.
Main Results:
- Offspring of diabetic mothers (ODMs) had significantly lower IQ scores at age 3 (98.4 vs. 113.4).
- No correlation found between maternal HbA1c and infant IQ.
- Inverse correlation between maternal age and infant IQ observed in ODMs.
Conclusions:
- Children born to diabetic mothers may experience poorer intellectual development.
- Maternal diabetes during pregnancy is a potential risk factor for cognitive outcomes.
- Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and long-term effects.
Abstract:
We prospectively evaluated the intellectual development of 33 children who were born to 33 diabetic Japanese mothers and compared them to 34 children born to non-diabetic mothers (controls) during the same period at Kurume University Hospital between 1987 and 1989. Birthweight, maternal age and the infant's age at the time of intelligence testing did not differ significantly between the offspring of diabetic mothers (ODMs) and controls. Tanaka-Binet intelligence scores were significantly lower in the ODMs at 3 years of age than in controls (98.4 +/- 17.4 versus 113.4 +/- 15.3) (p = 0.0005). No correlation was found between IQ and maternal haemoglobin A1c levels during pregnancy. Maternal age and infant IQ were inversely correlated in ODMs (p = 0.0298, r = -0.3984), but no such correlation was demonstrated in the controls. The results indicated that the ODMs may show a poorer intellectual development than those of non-diabetic mothers.