Diabetes in pregnancy and infant adiposity: systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis published on the BMJ Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal edition to compare adiposity in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and infants of mothers without diabetes (NIDM).

This paper summarises available evidence of the impact of maternal diabetes on infant adiposity. Secondary objectives are to distinguish the effect of type of maternal diabetes and infant sex, which were not reported by the Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) group.

The study includes data from 35 observational papers reporting adiposity in IDM and NIDM and over 24 000 infants. Body fat data was acquired using a range of body composition technique, including Air Displacement Plethysmography.

The conclusion of the review is that "maternal diabetes is associated with greater infant adiposity. As fat mass appears to track from infancy into childhood, this may be a harbinger of longer term risks to health".

The article details are the following:

- Title: "Diabetes in pregnancy and infant adiposity: systematic review and meta-analysis"
- Authors: Logan KM, Gale C, Hyde MJ, Santhakumaran S, Modi N.
- Published in:Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2016 May 26

The scientific article can be downloaded for free at the following link: click here