Diabetes During Pregnancy Tied to Early-Onset CVD in Offspring

This has nothing to do with anesthesia however I wanted to share with our readers.

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS

In utero exposure to maternal diabetes is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in early adulthood, according to a study in The BMJ.

Using Danish health registries, researchers followed over 2.4 million infants. Some 2.3% were exposed to pregestational diabetes in utero and 1.1% to gestational diabetes.

CVD was diagnosed in over 92,000 offspring before age 40. After multivariable adjustment, exposure to pregestational diabetes (type 1 or 2) was associated with a 34% increased risk for early-onset CVD, and exposure to gestational diabetes was associated with a 19% increased risk, relative to no fetal diabetes exposure. Risks were particularly increased when the mother had diabetes complications or comorbid CVD.

The researchers write, “These findings highlight the importance of effective strategies for screening and preventing diabetes in women of childbearing age. We need to monitor CVD risks in offspring of mothers with diabetes and investigate possible life course interventions that could reduce the occurrence of CVD.”