In-Utero Exposure to GGI-1 and GDM Linked to Higher Obesity Risk in Offspring: Study

A new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that older children and adolescents exposed to gestational glucose intolerance (GGI-1) or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in utero show a higher risk of obesity when compared to those from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) pregnancies, independent of maternal BMI.

It has been suggested that gestational diabetes mellitus and fetal exposure to hyperglycemia are the causes of increased adiposity in children since children born to mothers who had a pregnancy impacted by the condition are more likely to be overweight and obese. However, because maternal obesity is a powerful predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus and a risk factor for offspring obesity and overweight, probably due to shared genes and environment, it probably muddies this link. This study attempted to establish the relationship between child obesity and in utero exposure to GG-1 (abnormal glucose screening without gestational diabetes), as this association has not been consistently documented.

This research examined the risk of obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 95th percentile) in children aged 2–5, 6–10, and 11–18 who were exposed to different levels of maternal glycemia during pregnancy, including NGT, GGI (0 abnormal glucose values, GGI-0, or 1 abnormal value, GGI-1), or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM > 2 of 4 abnormal values) in a retrospective cohort.

After controlling for mother's age, parity, race/ethnicity, insurance, gestational age, marital status, infant sex, and gestational weight gain, they estimated odds ratios for obesity in each glycemic group relative to NGT using generalized estimating equations for logistic regression. Maternal BMI in the first trimester was also taken into account in a second model.