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Medical Video: Gestational Diabetes Risk Rises with Weight Gain between Babies (HD)
According to the researchers, when pregnant women have diabetes during their pregnancy, children will face a higher risk of developing autism.
Research on gestational diabetes was carried out on more than 320,000 children born in the United States.
However, the study was "observational research" and could not prove a direct causal relationship between gestational diabetes (which affects up to 9% of pregnant women) with autism. This increased risk of autism is seen in early gestational diabetes or about seven additional cases per 1,000 pregnancies more than pregnancies that do not involve gestational diabetes. But there is no increased risk associated with type 2 diabetes diagnosed before pregnant women.
An expert gives a warning to be careful in interpreting the findings. Although this study shows that the development of gestational diabetes during the first or second trimester of pregnancy can put the fetus at risk of a high autism spectrum disorder, the risk of this disorder is relatively small.
Although researchers want to identify as many risk factors for autism as possible, the reality is that many health factors and other risk factors have been linked to autism spectrum disorders.
Previous studies have shown mixed findings about whether gestational diabetes increases the risk of developmental disorders in children.
Autism disorders or body development attacks 1 in 68 children in the United States. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children with this condition generally have difficulty interacting socially and communicating.
In a study involving more than 320,000 children in the United States born between 1995-2009 at Kaiser Hospital in Southern California. After 5.5 years later around 3,388 children were diagnosed with autism.
Penelliti said that women who had gestational diabetes at the 26th week of their pregnancy had a 42% higher risk of having children with autism, compared to children whose mothers did not have gestational diabetes. This finding was even carried out after taking into account other factors that could affect outcomes such as age, education, and maternal weight, they added.
In addition, the study did not find an increased risk of autism among children born to mothers who knew they had type 2 diabetes before having a baby. This is due to the possibility that women can control their blood sugar levels during pregnancy.
Researchers cannot explain the mechanism behind this relationship with certainty. However, high blood sugar levels associated with gestational diabetes can interfere with normal brain development during important pregnancy periods. Therefore, prospective mothers must test their blood sugar early in pregnancy.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women who do not have diabetes risk factors cannot screen the disease until the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy, so gestational diabetes cannot be detected during early pregnancy. Xiang warned that women who have gestational diabetes during pregnancy need not panic or worry. A woman at risk of developing gestational diabetes, such as a woman who is overweight, older than 25, or has a history of gestational diabetes, should consider an earlier examination.
Researchers say that an initial examination for autism in children born to mothers who have gestational diabetes is possible, but researchers are not so sure about it. Some of them think that this recommendation, although well-intentioned, might be a little too early. On the other hand, parents must always consult their pediatricians every time they experience concerns about their child's development.
