Neurodevelopmental outcomes of children born to diabetic mothers in the Qatari population: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES

Maternal diabetes is linked to adverse perinatal outcomes, but its association with neurodevelopmental delays in offspring remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal diabetes and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born to Qatari mothers.

METHODS

This retrospective population-based cohort study included full-term children born in 2017 to Qatari mothers with gestational diabetes, pre-pregnancy diabetes, or no diabetes. Neurodevelopmental outcomes such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), speech delay, and gross and fine motor delays were assessed at the age of 4 years. Data for the study were retrieved from electronic medical records.

RESULTS

Of the 5141 eligible children, 1222 (23.8%) were born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), 140 (2.7%) to mothers with pre-pregnancy diabetes and 3779 (73.5%) to non-diabetic mothers. Overall, 70 (1.58%) children were diagnosed with autism, 161 (3.63%) with speech delay, 44 (0.99%) with gross motor delay and 43 (0.97%) with fine motor delay. In crude analyses, children of mothers with GDM had significantly higher odds of autism (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.81) and speech delay (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.04) compared with controls. However, these associations were not statistically significant after adjusting for confounders (autism: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.58, 95% CI 0.94 to 2.66; speech delay: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.39, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.00). No significant associations were observed between maternal diabetes and gross or fine motor delays in either crude or adjusted models.

CONCLUSION

Despite non-significant associations, findings highlight the role of effective diabetes management and the need for region-specific, longitudinal research on child neurodevelopment.