T2DM risk in offspring greater with T2DM versus GDM exposure

(HealthDay)—In utero exposure to type 2 diabetes is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in offspring versus exposure to gestational diabetes, according to a study published online June 11 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Brandy A. Wicklow, M.D., from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and colleagues examined the correlation of in utero exposure to gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes with the development of type 2 diabetes in offspring, stratified by First Nations (FN) status. A pediatric diabetes clinical database was linked to a population-based research data repository; the cohort study included 467,850 offspring.

The researchers found that after adjustment for sex, maternal age, socioeconomic status, birth size, and gestational age, FN status and diabetes exposure were correlated with incident type 2 diabetes in offspring. The risk to offspring was greater with type 2 diabetes exposure versus gestational diabetes exposure (3.19 versus 0.8 cases per 1,000 person-years). Any diabetes exposure was correlated with accelerated time to the development of type 2 diabetes in offspring by a factor of 0.74 and 0.5 for gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes, respectively, compared with no diabetes exposure. Risk was higher for FN offspring versus non-FN offspring (0.96 versus 0.14 cases per 1,000 person-years). The interactions between FN and type 2 diabetes and FN and gestational diabetes were not significant.

"Important differences exist in offspring risk based on type of diabetes exposure in utero," the authors write.