Infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus: Mild neonatal effects, a long-term threat to global health

摘要

The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing in the context of the pandemic in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in both high-income and emerging countries.1 More than 1 billion people will develop T2D during the next decade throughout the world.2 Much of the currently available knowledge on the consequences of maternal diabetes on the offspring is from studies on type 1 diabetes (T1D). The risks related to GDM, which is much more frequent than T1D, need to be clarified to improve and adapt neonatal management. Moreover, converging clinical and experimental data suggest that the offspring of diabetic mothers are at an increased risk of developing diabetes as well as other chronic, noncommunicable diseases at adulthood, with potential transgenerational effects involved in the pandemic. Pediatricians and neonatologists are on the frontline of managing the transgenerational effects of T2D. This review addresses the currently available knowledge on short-term and long-term effects of diabetes in pregnancy on the offspring.