Maternal diabetes, respiratory and other disorders in offspring: short-term and long-term outcomes

Abstract

Maternal diabetes during pregnancy, regardless of the type, is a risk factor for macrosomia or excessive fetal growth. Macrosomia and subsequent complications are the main short-term consequences of intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Additionally, they have an increased risk of neonatal complications, such as congenital heart defects (CHDs) and central nervous system (CNS) congenital birth defects, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, and polycythemia with their subsequent complications. More and more indisputable data are evidencing long-term consequences on offspring health in the case of diabetes. While most of this research has focused on metabolic and cardiovascular consequences, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting an impact of maternal diabetes on respiratory health, which is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic environmental factors during fetal and postnatal development, with important implications for respiratory disorders in later life.