Gestational Diabetes: Condition Linked To Slower Brain Activity In Fetus [Study]

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that the unborn babies of pregnant moms who have gestational diabetes had slower brain activity compared to babies in the wombs of normal pregnant moms who didn't have the condition.

“This is the first time a study has shown that the mother’s gestational diabetes can affect how quickly her fetus reacts to stimuli after a meal,” one of the study’s authors, Hubert Preissl, PhD, of University Hospital Tübingen, said in a press release. “The findings provide important insights into how the mother’s gestational diabetes diagnosis can affect her child’s brain activity.”

Gestational diabetes is a form that develops during pregnancy. Women who develop this condition have blood sugar levels that are higher than the normal. According to the Endocrine Facts and Figures report from the Endocrine Society, as many as 92 women develop gestational diabetes for every 1,000 pregnant American women.

The researchers arrived at the findings after a few tests. Participants in the small study included 12 pregnant women with gestational diabetes and 28 pregnant women who did not. After an overnight fast, the participants drank a 75-gram glucose solution, with their blood sugar levels being recorded prior to, an hour after, and two hours after drinking.

With each time the blood sugar levels were drawn, the researchers used sound signals to elicit responses in the baby inside the womb. A speaker makes a sound, which is transmitted via plastic tubing to a point in the mother's abdomen near the baby's ear. The baby's response was then measured using a non-invasive imaging technique called fetal magnetoencephalography.

It was found that, an hour after the mothers ingested the glucose solution, babies of moms with gestational diabetes had slower response times compared to babies of normal moms without the condition. The babies of moms without the condition responded in an average of 206 milliseconds, whereas babies of moms with gestational diabetes responded in an average of 296 milliseconds.

“The findings tell us the brain function of the fetus is influenced by its mother’s metabolism,” said Preissl. “Our theory is that the mother’s metabolism programs her child’s metabolism in a manner that may have consequences for the child’s obesity and diabetes risk later in life.”

According to MedpageToday, the researchers acknowledge the study's limitations, which include performing the glucose tolerance test at 27 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, although the recommended diagnostic window for the condition is from 24 to 28 weeks.

The study was funded in part by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the HelmHoltz Association.