Decreased bone mineral content in infants of diabetic mothers.

The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs) have decreased bone mineral content at birth, and whether or not decreased infant bone mineral content in IDMs correlates with poor control of diabetes during pregnancy, maternal bone mineral content, and the development of neonatal hypocalcemia. Forty-five pregnant diabetic women and their infants were enrolled in a prospective trial. In addition, 55 normal newborn infants of nondiabetic mothers were used as controls. Bone mineral content was measured before delivery in all diabetic pregnant patients and at birth in all infants by photon absorptiometry. Bone mineral content was significantly decreased in infants of diabetic mothers compared with control infants and correlated inversely with mean first trimester maternal capillary blood glucose; it did not correlate with cord serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentrations. By stepwise multiple regression analysis, in infants of diabetic mothers, bone mineral content correlated inversely with mean first trimester capillary blood glucose and maternal bone mineral content, but did not correlate with maternal blood glycosylated hemoglobin, infant gestational age, infant birthweight or weight percentile, or development of neonatal hypocalcemia.