Hyperglycemia During Pregnancy and Long-Term Offspring Outcomes

• Published in: Current diabetes reports Vol. 19; no. 12; pp. 143 - 8
• Main Authors: Bianco, Monica E., Josefson, Jami L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Diabetes; Diabetes and Pregnancy (M-F Hivert and CE Powe; Gestational diabetes; Glucose; Hyperglycemia; Hypertension; Liver diseases; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolism; Obesity; Pregnancy; Section Editors; Topical Collection on Diabetes and Pregnancy; Pregnancy; Long-term offspring outcomes; Childhood metabolic disease; Gestational diabetes treatment effect on offspring; Exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus; Developmental programming of diabetes
• ISSN: 1534-4827; 1539-0829
• DOI: 10.1007/s11892-019-1267-6

Purpose of Review This review will focus on the long-term outcomes in offspring exposed to in utero hyperglycemia and gestational diabetes (GDM), including obesity, adiposity, glucose metabolism, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and puberty. Recent Findings There is evidence, mostly from observational studies, that offspring of GDM mothers have increased risk of obesity, increased adiposity, disorders of glucose metabolism (insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes), and hypertension. In contrast, evidence from the two intervention studies of treatment of mild GDM and childhood measures of BMI, adiposity, and glucose tolerance do not demonstrate that GDM treatment significantly reduces adverse childhood metabolic outcomes. Thus, more evidence is needed to understand the impact of maternal GDM on offspring’s adiposity, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, risk of fatty liver disease, and pubertal onset. Summary Offspring of GDM mothers may have increased risk for metabolic and cardiovascular complications. Targeting this group for intervention studies to prevent obesity and disorders of glucose metabolism is one potential strategy to prevent adverse metabolic health outcomes.