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Neurodevelopmental disorders show higher risk potentials in children born from mothers with diabetes due to which early supportive care and life-long checks must be provided.
United States: A New analysis of data from 202 research studies along with more than 56 million mother-child pairs demonstrated that diabetes in pregnant women leads to a 28% increase of neurodevelopmental disorders in their children.
A publication in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology presents compelling research showing that maternal diabetes affects nervous system development of babies during pregnancy, as reported by Reuters.
Motherhood with pre-existing diabetes presents higher health risks when compared to gestational diabetes diagnosis.
Women who had diabetes before getting pregnant faced 39% higher odds for their children to develop brain or nervous system disorders compared to women with gestational diabetes affecting their pregnancies.
Genes and Environment Could Influence Risk
To better understand the root of the issue, researchers examined sibling comparison studies from seven earlier investigations. These showed that when genetics and household environments were considered, the direct impact of diabetes lessened — suggesting that genetic and environmental factors also contribute to the elevated risk.
Health Monitoring Needed for At-Risk Families
The researchers stress that diabetes patients need medical care while ongoing developmental checks should be conducted for their children.
Expert Commentary: More Answers Needed
Dr. Magdalena Janecka from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, an expert in prenatal development (not involved in the study), acknowledged the strong data but cautioned that the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear, as reported by Reuters.
“Meta-analyses help us see patterns,” she said, “but they don’t explain the ‘why’ behind them.”
Controversy Lingers Over Autism Research Narratives
This study arrives amid renewed attention on autism research, sparked by Trump-era health officials and current U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have called for further studies on vaccine-autism links — claims that remain widely discredited in the scientific community.
