Mom's Diabetes Tied to Higher Risk of ADHD, Autism in Kids

Diabetes prevention, screening, and treatment is "critically important" to the health of a woman, "but also her child," one expert affirms as a new meta-analysis finds children born to mothers with diabetes are 28% more likely to be diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder. The study, using data from 202 studies involving 56 million pregnancies, "does not establish diabetes as a direct cause" of neurodevelopmental disorders, study author Dr. Fangkun Liu of China's Central South University tells the New York Times. But it shows children born to mothers with diabetes—pre-existing or gestational—have an increased risk for intellectual disability (32%), ADHD (30%), autism (25%), communication issues (20%), movement problems (17%), and learning disorders (16%), per Reuters.

The level of risk was increased for children born to a mother with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. They had a 39% higher risk of a neurodevelopmental disorder than children born to a mother who only developed high blood sugar levels during pregnancy, according to the study published Monday in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. However, there was an increased risk for children born to mothers with long-lasting or severe gestational diabetes. About 10% of US women have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and 9% of pregnant women in the US develop gestational diabetes each year, per the Times.

The study adds to growing evidence linking high blood sugar levels to health issues for both mother and child, which can't be fully explained. The authors of this study speculate that Type 1 diabetes may increase inflammation in children while diabetes during pregnancy may alter gene expression, per the Times. There's some evidence that exposure to maternal diabetes causes changes in the hypothalamus, which is "intricately involved in both mental and physical health," notes Dr. Lucilla Poston, an expert in maternal and fetal health at King's College London. The hope is that bringing blood sugar under control can reduce potential risks. The "diligent monitoring of maternal (glycemic) concentrations throughout pregnancy is imperative," the study authors say, per the Independent. (More diabetes stories.)