title: Associations of existing diabetes, gestational diabetes, and glycosuria with offspring IQ and educational attainment: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Results from studies examining associations of maternal diabetes in pregnancy with offspring cognitive outcomes have been inconclusive.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK prospective pregnancy cohort. Outcomes were School Entry Assessment (SEA) scores (age 4, N = 6, 032) and WISC-III IQ (age 8, N = 5, 282-5,307) and General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results (age 16, N = 7, 615).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Existing diabetes, gestational diabetes, and, to a lesser extent, glycosuria were associated with lower offspring SEA scores (age 4), IQ (age 8), and GCSE results (age 16) even when adjusting for offspring sex, maternal age, prepregnancy BMI, smoking in pregnancy, parity, caesarean section, maternal education, and occupational social class. Offspring of mothers with existing diabetes had a threefold risk of achieving no GCSEs graded A*-C, whilst offspring of women with gestational diabetes had, on average, a five point lower IQ compared to offspring of women with no diabetes or glycosuria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal diabetes in pregnancy is consistently associated with lower offspring cognition and educational attainment though confidence intervals were wide. The weaker associations with glycosuria suggest a dose-dependent adverse association with IQ.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, School of Social & Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK.
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Corrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macdonald-Wallis
authors.forename: Debbie A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lawlor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000378:metabolism*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006029:Glycosuria / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010290:Parents; D011247:Pregnancy; D012923:Social Class; D006113:United Kingdom