Diabetes Linked To Higher Birth Defect Risk

Mon, 06 Feb 2012

Pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect, according to new research published in the journal Diabetologia.

Experts in the UK analysed data from more than 401,000 pregnancies of single babies between 1996 and 2008, and found a higher risk of infants suffering serious problems if women had Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, compared to women without the condition.

The range of birth defects included problems with the nervous system (such as spina bifida), digestive, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular defects and urinary disease.

For women with Type 1 diabetes, the chance of a birth defect was 82.2 per 1,000 pregnancies, while for those with diabetes Type 2, the rate was 57.9 per 1,000. Overall, women with diabetes had a 3.8 times higher risk of having a baby with a defect, compared to those without the metabolic disease .

The study showed that blood sugar levels around the time of conception was the most important factor predicting risk of congenital anomaly that could be controlled.

It also found that females with diabetes were not at greater risk of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's syndrome, and these conditions were excluded from the analysis, as was gestational diabetes .

Dr Ruth Bell, the study's lead researcher, from Newcastle University and Newcastle's Regional Maternity Survey Office, said: "The good news is that, with expert help before and during pregnancy, most women with diabetes will have a healthy baby."

"The risk of problems can be reduced by taking extra care to have the best possible glucose control before becoming pregnant. Any reduction in high glucose levels is likely to improve the chances of a healthy baby."

Guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence say women should reduce their blood sugar levels to below 6.1 per cent before trying to conceive.

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