About 15% of American children 3 to 17 years of age are living with neuro -development disorders such as ADHD, autism and intellectual disabilities.
A new study from China suggests that children born to mothers who experience a common disease during pregnancy are 28% more likely to be diagnosed with these conditions.
A hidden danger
For the analysis, researchers collected data from 202 studies during 56 million pregnancies worldwide. They looked at the results for children whose mothers had type 1 or type 2 diabetes during pregnancy, as well as mothers diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
The team found that maternal diabetes increased the risk of all types of neuro -development disorders, with increased autism by 25%, ADHD with 30%and intellectual disability with 32%.
Moreover, children born to mothers with diabetes were 20% more likely to fight communication, 17% more likely to suffer movement issues and 16% more likely to develop learning disorders compared to their peers.
It is interesting that children at the highest risk were those who gave birth to mothers with pre-existing diabetes.
These children were 39% higher to develop one or more of these disorders compared to those whose mothers had gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy and is usually resolved 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 and Endocrinology newspaper.
Looking forward
The analysis does not prove that the mother’s diabetes directly causes neuro -development issues in children, but experts say the results are important and guarantee further explorations.
“Disordishes Neuro -development, including autism and ADHD, were previously observed at higher rates in children with type 1 diabetes, who themselves have raised blood sugar,” said Dr. Jonathan Faro, a mother and fetal medicine specialist for medicine today.
He said the study that links the mother’s diabetes with neuro -developing disorders raises key questions if high blood sugar during pregnancy affects the development of the fetus brain, acting potentially as an agent that causes birth defects or developmental issues.
The study’s authors asked for more research to confirm the link between high blood sugar and neuro -developing issues and understand the underlying causes.
They also recommended exploration of potential protective factors and interventions to protect the development of the brain from the potential adverse effects of mother’s diabetes.
thrill
The findings come as diabetes levels rise in the US, partially driven by an aging population and expanding the waist lines.
Only look at the numbers: the diagnostic prevalence of diagnosed among US adults increased from 9.7% in 1999-2000 to 14.3% in 2021-2022, according to centers for disease control and prevention.
In total, 38 million stunning people at all ages had diabetes in 2022, including 8.7 million adults who were unaware they had it.
Moreover, more than 1 in 3 American adults are prediabetics, meaning their blood sugar levels are raised, but not yet at diabetic levels.
Gestational diabetes is increasing, with diagnoses among young American women growing by 30% over the past decade, according to a northwestern medicine study.
The pregnant woman can develop gestational diabetes, but the Cleveland clinic notes that the risk is higher for women who are overweight or thick, inactive or over the age of 35.
A family history of diabetes, polycistic ovary syndrome and certain ethnic backgrounds can also increase the risk.
Experts told the New York Times that the study underlines the need for comprehensive review of women in the 20s and 30s, so that they can receive treatment before they conceive.
While the findings can be worrying, “the reality of diabetes in pregnancy is that we have functioning treatments,” Dr Cartoon Venca, Director of Diabetes Program in Pregnancy at Ohio State University, assured Times. He was not involved in the study.
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