Background: It is well known that children born to mothers with diabetes in pregnancy are more likely to develop metabolic abnormalities in later life. Most prior studies have not differentiated between offspring of mothers with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and gestational diabetes (GDM) or lack a control group of non-exposed offspring.
Subjects: Offspring of T1DM (n = 16), GDM (n = 22) and mothers without diabetes (n = 25) born at Oulu University Hospital.
Aim: To assess insulin secretion and insulin resistance in the offspring of T1DM and GDM at preschool age in comparison with offspring of non-diabetic mothers.
Methods: Anthropometric measurements and intravenous glucose tolerance testing were performed. First-phase insulin response (FPIR) and homoeostasis model assessment (HOMA) values were calculated. Pregnancy and birth data were analysed in relation to later metabolic parameters in all three groups using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Results: At a mean age of 4.9 yr, offspring of T1DM had increased fasting serum insulin concentrations (p = 0.044), FPIR (p = 0.034) and HOMA-B values (p = 0.008) compared with offspring of GDM or with offspring of healthy controls (statistically non-significant). The GDM gained least weight during pregnancy, and when adjusted for maternal weight gain during pregnancy, there were no statistically significant differences between study groups.
Conclusions: Prenatal exposures to maternal type 1 and gestational diabetes may have different effects on postnatal glucose metabolism in the offspring assessed at a mean age close to 5 yr. Maternal weight gain in pregnancy may affect the postnatal glucose metabolism in the offspring.