Relationship between blood glucose concentrations of mothers without gestational diabetes mellitus during pregnancy and children's body mass index at 5 to 6 years old

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Objective To investigate the relationship between children's body mass index(BMI)at 5 to 6 years old and glucose concentrations of mothers without pre-existing diabetes or a gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM) diagnosis during pregnancy. Methods A prospective observational study was performed in offspring whose mother had no pre-existing diabetes or a GDM diagnosis during pregnancy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from Jan. 2006 to Dec. 2007. The data of maternal glucose concentrations of oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT) were acquired through referring to clinical records. Weight and height at 5 to 6 years old were measured and used to calculate BMI. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the association between children's BMI and maternal glucose concentrations. The influence of maternal glucose concentrations on the risk of overweight of offspring was analyzed by Logistic regression. Results There were 860 cases of children were followed-up, including 459 male cases and 401 female cases. The average BMI of children was(15.6±2.7) kg/m2. There were 78 cases of overweight(9.06%) and 50 cases of obesity(5.81%). The mean maternal fasting glucose level of the OGTT was(3.8±0.6) mmol/L and 2 h glucose level of the OGTT was(6.0±0.9) mmol/L. After adjusting for progestation BMI, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, sex, birth weight, age and paternal weight, at the 5 to 6 years old, BMI of offspring of mothers whose fasting glucose level of the OGTT≥5.51 mmol/L were significantly higher than those of mothers whose average blood glucose level<5.51 mmol/L(β=0.45, 95% CI: 0.15-0.80). Maternal fasting glucose level of the OGTT≥5.51 mmol/L was associated with an greater risk of children's overweight(OR=2.32, 95%CI: 1.30-3.96). Conclusions Even though the mother was in the absence of pre-existing diabetes or GDM during pregnancy, fetal exposure to high maternal glucose concentration may also promote the development of overweight in the offspring at 5 to 6 years old. Key words: Maternal glucose; Obesity; Overweight