According to the researchers, when women who are pregnant have diabetes during pregnancy, their children will face a higher risk of developing autism.
Research on gestational diabetes was performed on more than 320,000 children born in the United States.
However, the study was "observational research" and could not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between gestational diabetes (which affects up to 9% of pregnant women) with autism. This increased risk of autism is seen in early gestational diabetes or about seven additional cases per 1,000 pregnancies over pregnancies that do not involve gestational diabetes. However, no increased risk was associated with type 2 diabetes diagnosed before pregnant women.
An expert warns against caution in interpreting the findings. Although this study suggests that the development of gestational diabetes during the first or second trimester of pregnancy can place the fetus at high risk of autism spectrum disorders, the risk of this disorder is relatively small.
Although researchers want to identify as many autism risk factors as possible, the reality is that many health factors and other risk factors have been linked to autism spectrum disorders.
Previous studies have shown mixed findings about whether gestational diabetes increases the risk of developmental disorders in children.
Autism or body development affects 1 in 68 children in the United States. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children with this condition generally have difficulty in social interaction and communicate.