Maternal Diabetes Mellitus and Child Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Rethinking Causality in Light of Environmental Pollutants - PubMed
7 hours ago
- #environmental-pollutants
- #neurodevelopmental-disorders
- #maternal-diabetes
- Maternal diabetes mellitus (DM) has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.
- Recent evidence suggests that environmental pollutants, rather than DM itself, may be the underlying cause of these associations.
- Pollutants can increase DM risk and disrupt fetal brain development, providing a biologically plausible explanation.
- Maternal circulating pollutant levels come from ongoing external exposure and the release of stored lipophilic pollutants from adipose tissue.
- Insulin resistance and deficiency in DM accelerate lipolysis, increasing circulating pollutant levels.
- Other maternal conditions like obesity, eating disorders, and stress may also elevate pollutant levels.
- The study suggests reconsidering maternal risk factors in light of toxicokinetic dynamics and pollutant mobilization.