Pregnant Women with Obesity and Diabetes May be More Likely to Have a Child with ADHD

15th September, 2022

16 September 2022, ADHD, News, Newsletter, OT

[Source: Science Daily]

Children of women with gestational diabetes and obesity may be twice as likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to those whose mothers did not have obesity, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The estimated number of children aged 3-17 years ever diagnosed with ADHD is 6 million, according to data from 2016-2019. A major risk factor for ADHD in children is maternal obesity. Roughly 30% of women have obesity at their first doctor’s visit during pregnancy, and this number increases to 47% in women with gestational diabetes. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy in this population is a risk factor for children developing ADHD.

“Our study found pregnant women with obesity and gestational diabetes had children with long-term mental health disorders such as ADHD,” said Verónica Perea, M.D., Ph.D., of the Hospital Universitari MutuaTerrassa in Barcelona, Spain. “We did not find this association when these women gained a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.”

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