Media release

From: The Lancet

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Maternal diabetes associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, meta-analysis suggests

Diabetes during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of all neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and impaired neurodevelopmental performances in the child, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. However, authors call for cautious interpretation of the association as there is currently little evidence of a causal link.

Maternal diabetes* is on the rise, affecting millions of pregnancies worldwide. Previous evidence has suggested that maternal diabetes is associated with altered fetal brain development and may also be linked to long-term neurodevelopmental disorders in children such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability (ID), however the evidence has remained unclear.

The current study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate the current evidence linking the effects of maternal diabetes on the children’s neurodevelopment, incorporating data from 202 observational studies with over 56 million mother-child pairs. The analysis found that in studies which accounted for some other factors that might explain the association, children of mothers with diabetes in pregnancy still had a 28% increased risk of having any NDD, compared to children of mothers without diabetes. The study also looked at the risk of individual disorders and found children of mothers with maternal diabetes had a 25% increased risk of ASD, a 30% increased risk of ADHD, and a 32% increased risk of ID, compared to children whose mother did not have diabetes.

The authors say their findings provide important insights into the potential risks faced by children of mothers with diabetes and emphasize the importance of medical support for women at risk of developing diabetes and the continuous monitoring of their children. The authors call for further research to establish the reason for this association.

*Maternal diabetes includes type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes which develops during pregnancy.