Your kid is 28% more likely to have a developmental issue if you have this health problem while pregnant
About 15% of US children 3 to 17 years old are living with neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD, autism and intellectual disabilities.A new study out of China suggests that children born to mothers who experience a common ailment during pregnancy are 28% more likely to be diagnosed with these conditions.For the analysis, researchers pooled data from 202 studies across 56 million pregnancies worldwide.They looked at outcomes for children whose mothers had Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy, as well as moms diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The team found that maternal diabetes increased the risk of all types of neurodevelopmental disorders, with autism rising by 25%, ADHD by 30% and intellectual disability by 32%.Additionally, children born to mothers with diabetes were 20% more likely to struggle with communication, 17% more likely to experience movement issues and 16% more likely to develop learning disorders compared to their peers.Interestingly, the highest-risk children were those born to mothers with pre-existing diabetes. These children had a 39% higher likelihood of developing one or more of these disorders compared to those whose mothers had gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy and usually resolves after birth.The risk was also higher for children whose mothers had gestational diabetes for a longer period or who required medication to manage it.
The findings were published this month in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.The analysis doesn’t prove that maternal diabetes directly causes neurodevelopmental issues in children, but experts say the results are important and warrant further exploration.“Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and ADHD, have previously been observed at higher rates in children with Type 1 diabetes, who themselves have elevated blood sugar,” Dr. Jonathan Faro, a maternal and fetal medicine specialist, told Medical News Today. He said the study linking maternal diabetes to ...