Long-Term Impact of Diabetes in Pregnancy on Human Offspring Metabolism

Louise Kelstrup, Tine Dalsgaard Clausen, Azadeh Houshmand-Øregaard, Elisabeth Reinhardt Mathiesen, Peter Damm

Abstract

Elevated blood glucose or hyperglycemia is the main clinical characteristic of all types of diabetes mellitus (DM). If a pregnant woman has diabetes, her fetus is exposed to intrauterine hyperglycemia as glucose is an essential nutrient and transfers freely across the placental barrier. This earliest environmental exposure to maternal hyperglycemia in utero affects the individual adversely in both short- and long-time life span (Dabelea and Crume 2011; Metzger et al. 2008; Metzger 2007). From the early 1950s, the first literature on short-term clinical adverse outcomes in newborn children of mothers with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) emerged. In the same decade, increased focus on pathophysiological mechanisms began and later the question arose on how exposure to intrauterine hyperglycemia affects the individual in the long-term perspective. Various clinical parameters related to obesity, glucose metabolism, cardiovascular profile, and cognitive function have been investigated so far and the field expanded over the years to include gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as well as T1DM.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication Fetal and Early Postnatal Programming and its Influence on Adult Health
EditorsMulchand S. Patel, Jens H. Nielsen
PublisherCRC Press
Publication date1 Jan 2017
Pages255-268
ChapterChapter 14
ISBN (Print) 9781498770644
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017
SeriesOxidative Stress and Disease

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