Assessment of Attention Deficits in Adolescent Offspring Exposed to Maternal Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: PloS one 2017-01, Vol.12 (1), p.e0169308-e0169308
• Main Authors: Bytoft, Birgitte, Knorr, Sine, Vlachova, Zuzana, Jensen, Rikke B, Mathiesen, Elisabeth R, Beck-Nielsen, Henning, Gravholt, Claus H, Jensen, Dorte M, Clausen, Tine D, Mortensen, Erik L, Damm, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Analysis; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - etiology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain research; Children & youth; Clinical medicine; Cognitive ability; Complications and side effects; Denmark; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - complications; Diabetes, Gestational; Diagnosis; Drug abuse; Drugs; Endocrinology; Environmental health; Exposure; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gestational diabetes; Gynecology; Health sciences; Hospitals; Humans; Hyperactivity; Impulsive behavior; Internal medicine; Intrauterine exposure; Learning disabilities; Male; Maternal Exposure; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Mothers; Obstetrics; Offspring; People and Places; Physical Sciences; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Principal components analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Research design; Risk Factors; Social Sciences; Studies; Teenagers; Type 1 diabetes; Vigilance; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169308

The aim of this study was to examine the potential association between intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes and attention deficits in the offspring. Adolescent offspring of a prospectively followed cohort of women with type 1 diabetes (n = 269) and a control group from the background population (n = 293) participated in a follow-up assessment in 2012-2013. We used scores from Conners Continuous Performance Test II to assess attention and based on a principal component analysis we evaluated scores on five different attention factors: focused attention, vigilance, hyperactivity/impulsivity, sustained attention and response style. A higher frequency of the exposed offspring had a parent/self-reported use of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication compared to the control group (2.2% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.01). Clinical significant differences between adolescents exposed to maternal diabetes and unexposed controls were not found in either single scores on Conners Continuous Performance Test or on any of the five attention factors identified. Exposure to maternal type 1 diabetes did not seem to increase the risk of attention deficits in the adolescent offspring. However, a higher self-reported use of ADHD medication in the exposed group could suggest a difference in attention not revealed by the applied test.