The impact of maternal diabetes on the future health and neurodevelopment of the offspring: a review of the evidence.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing human and animal literature without systematic review methodology.
PubMed 37469977 · doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1125628
What was done
This narrative review synthesized current human and animal literature investigating the association between maternal diabetes (specifically gestational diabetes mellitus and uncontrolled maternal hyperglycemia) and offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes, as well as potential underlying biological mechanisms.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data or statistical estimates. It qualitatively summarizes that maternal diabetes is associated with offspring motor and cognitive impairment, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and psychiatric disorders. Proposed biological mechanisms highlighted include fetal neuroinflammation, iron deficiency, epigenetic alterations, disordered lipid metabolism, and structural brain abnormalities.
Why it matters
This review compiles multi-domain evidence linking prenatal glycemic control to long-term offspring brain health, emphasizing the clinical importance of managing maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy.
Limits
The paper is a non-systematic narrative review with no formal search strategy, risk of bias assessment, or quantitative pooling. The abstract lacks participant numbers, study counts, and numerical effect sizes.
Cited by
- supports High maternal glucose levels during pregnancy cause epigenetic switches in fetal DNA that program a higher vulnerability to diabetes, obesity, and psychiatric disorders.