Study Clarifies Link Between Maternal Diabetes and Autism in Children

Researchers say a large new study has strengthened evidence that diabetes during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of brain and nervous system problems in children, including autism.

It is not yet clear whether diabetes actually causes these problems. However, when mothers develop diabetes during pregnancy, the children's likelihood of being diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder increases by 28 percent, according to an analysis of data collected from 202 previous studies involving more than 56 million mother-child pairs.

Autism in Children

Children born to mothers with gestational diabetes were 25 percent more likely to develop autism, 30 percent more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and 32 percent more likely to develop an intellectual disability.

They were also 20 percent more likely to develop communication problems, 17 percent more likely to develop motor problems, and 16 percent more likely to develop learning disorders than children whose mothers did not have diabetes during pregnancy.

Researchers reported in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology that diabetes diagnosed before pregnancy appears to increase the risk of one or more neurodevelopmental disorders by 39 percent compared to gestational diabetes, which begins during pregnancy and often resolves afterward.

Pregnancy and Diabetes

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States says diabetes affects up to 9 percent of pregnancies in the country, and the incidence is rising.

The researchers said seven previous studies compared children with diabetes to their siblings. These analyses found no effect of maternal diabetes, suggesting that shared genetic or familial factors may contribute to the increased risk.

Key Findings of the Study

According to the researchers, the findings underscore the importance of medical support for women at risk of diabetes and continued monitoring of their children.

Dr. Magdalena Janicka of New York University Grossman School of Medicine said that such analyses "allow for more precise comparison of groups, but at the same time, they do not bring us closer to understanding the causes or underlying mechanisms."

The study comes as health officials in the Donald Trump administration have called for more research into whether vaccines cause autism, a claim long promoted by new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and refuted by established science.