NEUROBEHAVIOUR OF SCHOOL-AGE-CHILDREN BORN TO DIABETIC MOTHERS

Aim-To study the neurobehavioural effects that diabetes during pregnan cy might have on children by school age. Methods-The neurobehavioural function of 57 school age children born to 48, well controlled diabeti c mothers was compared with 57 control children matched for age, birth order, and parental socioeconomic status, using several cognitive, be havioural, sensory and motor neurological tests. Results-The IQ scores of the index group children were similar to those of control children (117.7+/-13.4 vs 118.5+/-10.1). There were no differences between the groups in various sensory motor functions. However, the index group c hildren performed less well than the controls on indices of fine and g ross motor functions, as observed on the Bruininks-Oseretzky test of m otor proficiency. The scores of children born to diabetic mothers were higher than controls on the Touwen and Prechtl neurological examinati on. They also performed worse in the Pollack tapper test which is desi gned to detect minor neurological deficits, inattention, and hyperacti vity. The index children had higher scores on the Conners abbreviated parent-teacher questionnaire which measures hyperactivity and inattent ion. There was a negative correlation between the performance of the i ndex group children on various neurodevelopmental and behavioural test s and the severity of hyperglycaemia, as assessed by blood glycosylate d haemoglobin and acetonuria. Conclusions-Diabetes during pregnancy ad versely affects some fine neurological functions in children at school age, but not their cognitive scores. These effects are not correlated with the degree of glycaemic control.