A new study has found that pregnant women who have elevated blood sugar levels — even in the absence of a diabetes diagnosis — may be putting their unborn babies at risk of congenital heart defects.
The study, which was published in JAMA Pediatrics last Oct. 12, was conducted by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine.
The study provides more evidence on how blood sugar levels can affect the mother's and the fetus' health. It is also the first study to show the association in pregnant women who are not diagnosed as diabetics.
"What we now know, thanks to this new research, is that women who have elevated glucose values during pregnancy that don't meet our diagnostic criteria for diabetes also face an increased risk," study lead author James Priest, MD said, according to the university's press release.
To arrive at their findings, Priest and the team of researchers studied blood samples collected from 2003 to 2007 from 227 women in their second trimester of pregnancy.
Blood analysis was done from March to June this year and women did not undergo fasting at the time of the collection.
Out of those women, 180 served as the control group and they were not carrying babies with congenital heart defects; the rest of the women carried babies with two of the most common heart defects.
Fifty-five infants had tetralogy of Fallot, a defect in the heart and blood vessels that connect to the lungs, which results to the blue baby syndrome.
There were also 42 babies born with the defect known as dextrotransposition of the great arteries, which happens when two main arteries get switched.
The findings may call for a change of recommendations for doctors in that all women should be screened for their blood sugar levels even if they are not diabetics.
Priest expressed his excitement about the research since it leads to more questions on how the bodily processes of a pregnant woman can be linked to congenital heart disease.
"Most of the time we don't have any idea what causes a baby's heart defect. I aim to change that," he said in the press release.
