A paper about the association between maternal fasting plasma glucose level in early gestation and developmental delay in children has been published.

Developmental delay is defined as a lag in acquiring communication, social, and daily living skills in children compared with those of age-matched peers. Previous studies have shown that pregestational diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus are possible risk factors for developmental delay. However, the influence of maternal fasting plasma glucose level in early pregnancy (before 24 weeks of gestation) on developmental delay in children is still unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the association of maternal fasting plasma glucose level in early gestation, as both a continuous and categorical variable, with developmental delay in children at 2 years of age.
The present study included 1,541 mother-child pairs who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Developmental delay was assessed by the mother when the child was 2 years old. As a result, maternal fasting plasma glucose level ≤70 mg/dL was associated with a decreased risk of developmental delay in children. However, high maternal fasting plasma glucose level was not associated with developmental delay in children. Severe hypoglycemia may have negative impacts on mothers, further research is needed to examine the association between maternal hypoglycemia and developmental delay in children.

[Bibliographic information]
Title: Maternal Fasting Plasma Glucose Level in Early Gestation and Developmental Delay in 2-year-old Children
Authors: Chikana Kawaguchi, Mami Ishikuro, Ryota Saito, Keiko Murakami, Aoi Noda, Genki Shinoda, Misato Aizawa, Hisashi Ohseto, Noriyuki Iwama, Masatsugu Orui, Taku Obara, Shinichi Kuriyama
Journal: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Publication date: 20 January 2025
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgae825
URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39832134/