Type 2 Diabetes Management

Gestational Diabetes Linked to ADHD in Children

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Lu Young RN

Poor women with gestational diabetes may have increased risk of having children with ADHD.  What can you do to protect your child from ADHD?  Perhaps the number one factor is eating right.  A good diet does not have to be expensive.  Here are my top two tips followed by the story from the Academy of Pediatrics.

Tip #1 – Eat more beans.  Beans are a cheap source of good protein that are easy to make and keep well as left-overs.

Tip #2 -  Roast a turkey year round.  Turkey is relatively cheap and is great to bring the family together.  I have often had turkey in the summer.

Here is the original source of the story on “Gestational Diabetes Linked to ADHD in Children“.

Main Exposures  Gestational diabetes mellitus and low SES.

Main Outcome Measures  Primary outcomes are ADHD diagnosis based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) criteria at age 6 years and several well-validated measures of neurobehavioral outcomes, cognitive functioning, ADHD symptoms, and temperament at age 4 years. Secondary outcomes are parent and teacher reports of behavioral and emotional problems at age 6 years. Neurobehavioral measures in relation to GDM and low SES were examined using generalized estimating equations and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results  Both maternal GDM and low SES were associated with an approximately 2-fold increased risk for ADHD at age 6 years. However, the risk by GDM was greater among lower SES families than among higher SES families. Children exposed to both GDM and low SES demonstrated compromised neurobehavioral functioning, including lower IQ, poorer language, and impoverished behavioral and emotional functioning. A test of additive interaction found that the risk for ADHD increased over 14-fold (P = .006) when children were exposed to both GDM and low SES. Neither children exposed to maternal GDM alone nor those exposed to low SES alone had a notable increased risk for ADHD.

Conclusions  Maternal GDM and low SES, especially in combination, heighten the risk for childhood ADHD. Long-term prevention efforts should be directed at mothers with GDM to avoid suboptimal neurobehavioral development and mitigate the risk for ADHD among their offspring.

Eating right seems to be the key to preventing ADHD in mothers that have with gestational diabetes and are poor.   I have given you two tips for eating right on a budget.  If you are interested in additional tips on this topic please comment below.