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Autism Spectrum Disorders in Offspring Exposed to Maternal Gestational Diabetes: a Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

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Abstract

The association between maternal diabetes and risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring was not completely consistent. We performed an updated and systematic review and meta-analysis with relevant studies published until 6 August 2020. We included 17 publications, describing 15 studies, including 1,751,537 participants. Exposure to maternal diabetes in utero was correlated to an increased risk of ASD (effect estimate 1.30 [95% CI: 1.16–1.46]). Offspring exposure to maternal diabetes with antidiabetic medication has a heightened risk of ASD by 48% than offspring with a non-diabetic mother, and 42% than offspring with diabetic mother not receiving medical treatment. Exposure to maternal diabetes in utero increases the risk of ASD in offspring, especially exposure to maternal diabetes with antidiabetic medication.

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Funding

This work was supported by Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control, No. YGFK20190041.

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Author notes

  1. Dan Guo, Rong Ju, and Jiazhen Dai contributed equally to the study and they should be regarded as joint first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Health Branch, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Dan Guo & Jiazhen Dai

  2. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Rong Ju

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Huazhong Zhang

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  1. Dan Guo
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Correspondence to Dan Guo.

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Guo, D., Ju, R., Dai, J. et al. Autism Spectrum Disorders in Offspring Exposed to Maternal Gestational Diabetes: a Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-023-00380-8

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