Among women with GD identified by contemporary criteria compared with those without it, GD was significantly associated with a higher maternal risk for a disorder of glucose metabolism during long-term follow-up after pregnancy. Among children of mothers with GD vs those without it, the difference in childhood overweight or obesity defined by body mass index cutoffs was not statistically significant; however, additional measures of childhood adiposity may be relevant in interpreting the study findings.

Whether hyperglycemia in utero less than overt diabetes is associated with altered childhood glucose metabolism is unknown. We examined associations of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) not confounded by treatment with childhood glycemia in the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) cohort. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS HAPO Follow-up Study (FUS) included 4,160 children ages 10-14 years who completed all or part of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and whose mothers had a 75-g OGTT at ∼28 weeks of gestation with blinded glucose values. The primary predictor was GDM by World Health Organization criteria. Child outcomes were impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes. Additional measures included insulin sensitivity and secretion and oral disposition index. RESULTS For mothers with GDM, 10.6% of children had IGT compared with 5.0% of children of mothers without GDM; IFG frequencies were 9.2% and 7.4%, respectively. Type 2 diabetes cases were too few for analysis. Odds ratios (95% CI) adjusted for family history of diabetes, maternal BMI, and child BMI z score were 1.09 (0.78-1.52) for IFG and 1.96 (1.41-2.73) for IGT. GDM was positively associated with child's 30-min, 1-h, and 2-h but not fasting glucose and inversely associated with insulin sensitivity and oral disposition index (adjusted mean difference 276.3 [95% CI 2130.3 to 222.4] and 20.12 [20.17 to 20.064]), respectively, but not insulinogenic index. CONCLUSIONS Offspring exposed to untreated GDM in utero are insulin resistant with limited b-cell compensation compared with offspring of mothers without GDM. GDM is significantly and independently associated with childhood IGT. The incidence of type 2 diabetes among youth is rising, due, in part, to increasing prevalence of childhood obesity (1-3). Worldwide, it is estimated that type 2 diabetes in children will continue to increase, posing a significant public health and financial burden (4). In addition to childhood obesity, intrauterine exposure to maternal preexisting diabetes or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with a higher

OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy on cardiometabolic risk in offspring during early childhood.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA total of 970 mothers who had joined the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study were reevaluated, together with their child born during the study period, 7 years after delivery.RESULTSOffspring born to mothers diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), as defined by the World Health Organization 2013 GDM criteria, had higher rates of abnormal glucose tolerance (4.7% vs. 1.7%; P = 0.04), higher rates of overweight or obesity, greater BMI, higher blood pressure (BP), lower oral disposition index, and a trend toward reduced β-cell function compared with those born to mothers without GDM. For each SD increase in maternal fasting, 1-h, and 2-h glucose levels on oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) between 24 and 32 weeks of the index pregnancy, the risk of abnormal glucose tolerance in the offspring showed a corresponding increase (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.85–2.00). The associations were independent of BMI before pregnancy, childhood obesity, or being born large for gestational age. The area under the curve for glucose levels during the five-point OGTT increased to a similar extent in boys and girls with each SD increase in maternal 1-h and 2-h plasma glucose on OGTTs during pregnancy. All three maternal glucose levels were also associated with increased adjusted ORs for childhood overweight or obesity and adiposity among girls, but not boys.CONCLUSIONSMaternal hyperglycemia in pregnancy is independently associated with offsprings’ risk of abnormal glucose tolerance, obesity, and higher BP at 7 years of age. Its effect on childhood adiposity was apparent only in girls, not boys.