Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May;40(5):679-686.
doi: 10.2337/dc16-2397. Epub 2017 Mar 9.

In Utero Exposure to Maternal Hyperglycemia Increases Childhood Cardiometabolic Risk in Offspring

Wing Hung Tam  1 , Ronald Ching Wan Ma  2   3   4 , Risa Ozaki  2 , Albert Martin Li  5 , Michael Ho Ming Chan  6 , Lai Yuk Yuen  7 , Terence Tzu Hsi Lao  7 , Xilin Yang  8 , Chung Shun Ho  6 , Gregory Emanuele Tutino  2 , Juliana Chung Ngor Chan  2   3   4
Affiliations
Free PMC article

In Utero Exposure to Maternal Hyperglycemia Increases Childhood Cardiometabolic Risk in Offspring

Wing Hung Tam et al. Diabetes Care. 2017 May.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy on cardiometabolic risk in offspring during early childhood.

Research design and methods: A total of 970 mothers who had joined the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study were reevaluated, together with their child born during the study period, 7 years after delivery.

Results: Offspring born to mothers diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), as defined by the World Health Organization 2013 GDM criteria, had higher rates of abnormal glucose tolerance (4.7% vs. 1.7%; P = 0.04), higher rates of overweight or obesity, greater BMI, higher blood pressure (BP), lower oral disposition index, and a trend toward reduced β-cell function compared with those born to mothers without GDM. For each SD increase in maternal fasting, 1-h, and 2-h glucose levels on oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) between 24 and 32 weeks of the index pregnancy, the risk of abnormal glucose tolerance in the offspring showed a corresponding increase (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.85-2.00). The associations were independent of BMI before pregnancy, childhood obesity, or being born large for gestational age. The area under the curve for glucose levels during the five-point OGTT increased to a similar extent in boys and girls with each SD increase in maternal 1-h and 2-h plasma glucose on OGTTs during pregnancy. All three maternal glucose levels were also associated with increased adjusted ORs for childhood overweight or obesity and adiposity among girls, but not boys.

Conclusions: Maternal hyperglycemia in pregnancy is independently associated with offsprings' risk of abnormal glucose tolerance, obesity, and higher BP at 7 years of age. Its effect on childhood adiposity was apparent only in girls, not boys.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of HAPO study participants from the Hong Kong field center and eligible subjects in the follow-up study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Moyer VA; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force . Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2014;160:414–420 - PubMed
    1. Pirc LK, Owens JA, Crowther CA, Willson K, De Blasio MJ, Robinson JS. Mild gestational diabetes in pregnancy and the adipoinsular axis in babies born to mothers in the ACHOIS randomised controlled trial. BMC Pediatr 2007;7:18. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Landon MB, Rice MM, Varner MW, et al. .; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network . Mild gestational diabetes mellitus and long-term child health. Diabetes Care 2015;38:445–452 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pettitt DJ, Aleck KA, Baird HR, Carraher MJ, Bennett PH, Knowler WC. Congenital susceptibility to NIDDM. Role of intrauterine environment. Diabetes 1988;37:622–628 - PubMed
    1. Pettitt DJ, Baird HR, Aleck KA, Bennett PH, Knowler WC. Excessive obesity in offspring of Pima Indian women with diabetes during pregnancy. N Engl J Med 1983;308:242–245 - PubMed