Diabetes & autism

[Melody123]

Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge on this? I’m a T1 & when I was pregnant with my second child I had a very severe low blood sugar episode where I was hallucinating (at the time my testing kit was faulty & giving misreading a so I didn’t know I was that low). Anyhow all was fine & I’ve never had anything like that happen again. The thing is my now 14 yr old son is displaying signs of very mild autism - obsessions over random subjects & things like that. Is there any evidence of a link between low blood sugars when pregnant & autism? I’m new to this forum & have always wanted to ask the question but a little nervous about finding out.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Melody123 As a diabetic mum myself it’s hard not to obsess over incidents like this, however I have never come across this or heard of a hypo event affecting an unborn child, my understanding is that it shouldn’t affect your child as they maintain their own glucose levels.

 

[EllieM]

I second that reply. I was certainly told that my baby would be fine when I had some (very) severe hypos during my first pregnancy. (Think unconscious with eyes rolling up in the back of your head and your husband thinks you're dying.) I've googled (you made me curious too) and though I've found some links to maternal diabetes and increased likelihood of autism, these appeared to be related to high blood sugars of the mothers and maternal obesity (so GDs and T2s did worse than T1s).

Honestly, you might as well blame yourself for wearing the wrong colour socks during pregnancy (maybe mothers who wear green are more likely to have children who refuse to eat spinach?). Though I've always been a little paranoid about the chances of my kids developing T1, I've always promised myself not to enter the blame game if I do. I think the fear that a hypo may have caused developmental damage is similar, particularly when there really don't seem to be any studies suggesting it. And even if there were studies suggesting that hypos and autism were correlated, you still couldn't say that one hypo caused the issue, given that it could have just happened anyway. (Should scientists, mathematicians and engineers avoid having children because they may be more likely to be on the spectrum?)

ASD covers a multitude of personalities and behaviours, and can have benefits as well as disadvantages. Good luck with your son.

 

[Melody123]

Thanks for the replies, it was really good to hear your views on it. I’ve researched it a fair bit & I have come across a link between very high levels of glucose during pregnancy & autism (mostly T2s) but nothing concrete. The reason I was worried was the hallucinating during the hypo...I went from sleep into a semi unconscious state where I still thought I was dreaming but was fully awake. My husband recognised that I was acting v peculiar that morning & got me to the hospital straight away where they found I was 1.8 & gave me a glucose shot. At that stage it had gone on for about an hour. Nothing like this had ever happened before or after & because I was pregnant its always played on my mind. It’s a relief to know that maybe this had nothing to do with how my sons brain works & you’re right about the blame game. I’m now going to put it out of my head for good so thank you!

 

[VashtiB]

Hi,

I would agree with the previous responses. I had gestational diabetics with my first child- very well contained no high levels, I didn't have gestational diabetes with my next two children- all have autism. I think it is more genetically based.