Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy are more likely to have children who go on to develop attention-deficient hyperactive disorder (ADHD), research has suggested.
A new study from Edith Cowan University has discovered that children aged seven to 10 are at greater risk of being diagnosed with ADHD if they were born to mothers with gestational diabetes.
In addition, children aged four to six years were more likely to experience externalising problems if they were born to mothers with gestational diabetes compared to those born to mothers without the condition, the research has reported.
- Breast milk benefits babies with mothers affected by gestational diabetes
- Postpartum screening low among women affected by gestational diabetes or hypertension
- Common blood glucose test fails to detect nearly three quarters of gestational diabetes cases
During the trial, the ream of academics analysed the health data of 200,000 mother-child pairs from Europe and Australia.
First author Dr Rachelle Pretorius said: “Externalising symptoms are behaviours directed outward.
“Instead of experiencing depression or anxiety, these children often display hyperactivity, impulsivity, defiance, or aggression.”
She added: “Externalising problems frequently coexist with ADHD symptoms and tend to emerge before medical intervention, especially during the early school.”
Joint author Professor Rae-Chi Huang said: “At younger ages, children may exhibit more externalising problems and as the child matures, symptoms or behaviour related to ADHD may become more apparent.
“ADHD does not have biological markers for diagnosis, making ADHD a disorder that is difficult to detect before symptoms manifest.”
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Professor Huang added: “Our findings suggest that these externalising behaviours may decrease over time but could extend into other domains such as neurodevelopment outcomes such as ADHD symptoms.”
Dr Pretorius explained: “While the exact mechanics of gestational diabetes influence on child development is still unclear, it is believed that acute and chronic maternal inflammation during pregnancy may influence certain pathways in a child’s brain programming and contribute to neurodevelopment, cognitive and behaviour outcomes later in life.
“Several studies suggest that the severity of maternal diabetes, associated with maternal obesity, chronic inflammation have a joint impact on the development of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD in children, which is greater than the impact of either condition alone.”
Read the full study in the journal BMC Pediatrics.
