We speak of gestational diabetes in case of high level of sugar in the blood appearing during pregnancy. It occurs in some women, usually during the 3rd trimester. This pathology of pregnant women is not without consequences on the health of the baby (overweight) and the mother (high blood pressure and risk of cesarean section). This new study provides evidence that it also increases the risk of autism in children.
Researchers from Kaiser Permanente’s medical centers in California (United States) analyzed medical records and followed for more than 5 and a half years more than 322,000 children of different ethnic origins, born between 28 and 44 weeks of pregnancy between 1995 and 2009.
The results of their study show that children exposed to gestational diabetes before the 26th week of pregnancy had a 63% increased risk of developing gestational diabetes. autistic disorders compared to those that have not been exposed. After taking into account the mother’s age, level of education, ethnicity and household income, the study authors estimated that this risk was 42% higher in children whose mother suffered from gestational diabetes.
“Exposure of fetuses tohyperglycemia kindergarten could have lasting effects on the development and function of the child’s organs, ”says Anny Xiang, research director of biostatistics of the Center for Research and Evaluation of Kaiser Permanente, a healthcare delivery group.
“However,” she adds, “it is less clear whether the mother’s diabetes can interfere with fetal brain development and increase the risk of autism disorders, as it is a study of ‘observation, without scientific evidence’.
The study’s findings also confirm that children whose mothers suffered from gestational diabetes after 26 weeks of pregnancy were no more at risk for autism than those whose mothers did not have pre-existing diabetes or gestational.
“Early detection of autism in children born to mothers who suffered from gestational diabetes before the 26th week of pregnancy may be necessary” concludes Anny Xiang.
Autism in France
The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) estimates that 100,000 young people under the age of 20 have a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) in France and that childhood autism affects around 30,000 d ‘between them.
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