Maternal diabetes may raise babies’ risk of autism, ADHD: Lancet
Study of 56·1 million pregnancies, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, has reinforced the link between maternal diabetes and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders
- NEW DELHI — A large study of 56·1 million pregnancies, published in The Lancet
Diabetes and Endocrinology on Tuesday, has reinforced the link between maternal
diabetes and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism,
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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- Researchers from the Central South University in China
conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 202 studies, involving
56,082,462 mother-child pairs.
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- The results showed that maternal diabetes was associated
with increased risks of all types of neurodevelopmental disorders as well as
lower intelligence and psychomotor scores.
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- Children exposed to maternal diabetes had an increased risk
of any neurodevelopmental disorder including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD,
intellectual disability, specific developmental disorders, communication
disorder, motor disorder, and learning disorder, compared with unexposed
children.
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- "Maternal diabetes is associated with an increased risk
of neurodevelopmental disorders and impaired neurodevelopmental performance in children,”
said the researchers.
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- Maternal diabetes which includes both pre-gestational
diabetes (also known as preexisting diabetes) and gestational diabetes -- high
blood sugar during pregnancy -- has become increasingly prevalent, affecting
millions of pregnancies worldwide.
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- The global prevalences of pre-gestational diabetes and
gestational diabetes have also steadily increased over the past four decades,
with pre-gestational diabetes affecting about 2·4 per cent and gestational
diabetes affecting 27·6 per cent of pregnancies worldwide.
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- Obesity and metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of conditions,
including hypertension, diabetes, excess abdominal fat, and abnormal
cholesterol levels -- are known to be the major drivers.
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- Besides negative impacts such as caesarean section,
macrosomia (excessive birth weight), and neonatal jaundice, affecting both
mothers and neonates, previous studies have shown maternal diabetes might alter
foetal brain development.
