Relationship Between Maternal Gestational Diabetes and Body Mass Index of 3-Year-Old Children

The main goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between the maternal gestational diabetes and body mass index (BMI) of three-year-old children.

We conducted a descriptive analysis of 100 diabetic pregnant women and 200 healthy pregnant women and their children who were referred to the maternity wards of the teaching hospital of Babol. The measurement of the height and weight of 3-year-old children were done in the clinic.

The average age of mothers participating in this study was 23.73±3.03 years. The BMI and the birth weight of infants within the normal weight range in the diabetic group were significantly more than those of non-diabetic children (16.47 ± 1.42 kg/m2 , 16.09±1.3 kg/m2 , P= 0.04, 330.33±214.12 g, 3130.65±242.75 g, P=0.001, respectively). The BMI of the male children of the diabetic group was significantly more than that of the control group at the age of three years although this difference was not significant in girls (16.55±1.40 kg/m2 ,16.01±1.42 kg/m2 , P=0.03 and 16.36±1.47 kg/m2 , 16.19±1.31 kg/m2 , P=0.53 for boys and girls, respectively).

The findings of the current study showed that the children of mothers with gestational diabetes have a higher BMI compared to their peers although its relationship to gestational diabetes was not significant. However, these findings were significant for boys after gender segregation while not being significant for the girls. Finally, BMI at three years of age had no significant relation with gestational diabetes