67: Fasting glucose levels during pregnancy and long-term childhood growth in the offspring

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Studies on the long-term health impact of intrauterine exposure to hyperglycemia on childhood growth in the offspring are relatively limited and findings are inconsistent. STUDY DESIGN:We performed a prospective study among 665 women who were suspected to have gestational diabetes from the Danish National Birth Cohort, as part of the ongoing Diabetes & Women's Health Study, to investigate the association of maternal fasting glucose levels in pregnancy with childhood growth in the offspring. Weight and height at birth 5 months 12 months, and 7 years in the offspring were used to calculate age and gender specific BMI Z-scores and percentiles. Multivariable linear regression models adjusted for maternal age, parity, and BMI were used to examine the associations. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate risk ratios of child overweight/obesity (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). RESULTS: Each 10 mg/dl increment in maternal fasting glucose was associated with a 0.1 unit increase in BMI Z-score at birth (P=0.02) in the offspring. Similar findings were observed at 7 years; corresponding to a 0.4 kg increase of weight (P=0.02) and 0.1 unit of BMI Z-score (P=0.03). Moreover, each 10 mg/dl increment in glucose was related to a 1.64-fold increased risk of overweight/ obesity at 7 years. However, no significant association was observed for maternal glucose with any of the growth measurements at 5 and 12 months. CONCLUSION: Maternal fasting glucose levels in pregnancy were positively and significantly related to fetal growth and childhood growth at 7 years in the offspring, independent of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI.