Prenatal Exposure to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Is Associated With Greater Pre-Pubertal BMI Growth and Faster Post-Pubertal Cortical Thinning During Peri-Adolescence.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The longitudinal trajectory of body mass index (BMI) and brain structure development during peri-adolescence is not clearly defined in offspring prenatally exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) versus unexposed offspring.

Methods

Participants between age 9 and 10 years (N = 9583) were included from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and followed yearly through 4-year follow-up. GDM and puberty status were self-reported. BMI was calculated yearly, and MRI assessed brain structure biennially. Mixed-effects models analysed trajectories of BMI and brain structural measures between groups controlling for sociodemographic covariates, and linear spline was defined with a knot at the onset of puberty.

Results

There was an interacti

SUBMITTER: Hsu E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696447 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature