According to new research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism of the Endocrine Society, children of women with gestational diabetes and obesity may be twice as likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to those whose mothers did not have obesity.
Approximately 6 million children aged 3 to 17 have received an ADHD diagnosis, according to data from 2016 to 2019. Maternal obesity is a significant risk factor for ADHD in children.
At their initial prenatal appointment, about 30% of pregnant women are obese, and this percentage rises to 47% in those who have gestational diabetes. In this demographic, excessive weight gain during pregnancy is a risk factor for the development of ADHD in children.
“Our study found pregnant women with obesity and gestational diabetes had children with long-term mental health disorders such as ADHD,” said Verónica Perea, M.D., Ph.D., of the Hospital Universitari MutuaTerrassa in Barcelona, Spain. “We did not find this association when these women gained a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.”
1 036 kids born to pregnant moms with gestational diabetes were the subject of the study. These youngsters had an ADHD diagnosis in 13% of them. The researchers discovered that children of obese moms were twice as likely to have ADHD than those born to mothers without obesity.
Our study found pregnant women with obesity and gestational diabetes had children with long-term mental health disorders such as ADHD. We did not find this association when these women gained a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.
Verónica Perea
The relationship was only discovered by the researchers in pregnant women who had gestational diabetes, were obese, or had gained a lot of weight.
If the amount of weight gained during pregnancy by the obese and gestationally diabetic women was within the usual range, the researchers did not see an increased risk of ADHD in the offspring of these women.
“It’s important for clinicians to counsel their patients on the importance of healthy weight gain during pregnancy,” Perea said.
Other authors of this study include Andreu Simó-Servat, Carmen Quirós, Nuria Alonso-Carril, Maite Valverde, Maria-José Barahona, Xavier Urquizu, Eva López and Maria-José Barahona of the Hospital Universitari Mútua de Terrassa; and Antonio J. Amor of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.
The study received funding from the Fundació Docència i Recerca Mútua Terrassa.
