Cardiometabolic & kidneyCohort study
Maternal Diabetes and Risk of Early-Onset Cardiovascular Diseases in Offspring
- Nationwide population-based cohort study
- linked national registers
- sibling analyses
- mediation analyses
Authors' conclusion
This cohort study found that maternal diabetes during pregnancy was associated with increased long-term risks of overall CVD and some CVD subtypes in offspring, particularly following pregestational diabetes.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals born in Sweden 1973–2014, follow-up through 2023
- Participants
- 4,274,414 individuals
- Exposure
- Maternal diabetes during pregnancy vs no maternal diabetes
- Any maternal diabetesn = 61,336
- Not exposedn = 4,213,078reference
- Outcome
- Incident overall CVD and specific CVD subtypes in offspring
- Follow-up
- Median 27.6 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Overall CVD · median 27.6 years (IQR, 17.2-37.4 years)
Each group vs not exposedHazard ratio (95% CI)
Any maternal diabetes
1.16(1.12–1.20)
Pregestational diabetes
1.29(1.21–1.38)
Gestational diabetes
1.11(1.05–1.17)
- Total participants with CVD diagnosis
- 7.36%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
CVD subtypes in offspring prenatally exposed to maternal diabetes
- VTE, HR
- 1.20 (95% CI, 1.07-1.34)
- Cerebrovascular diseases, HR
- 1.31 (95% CI, 1.12-1.52)
- AF, HR
- 1.27 (95% CI, 1.05-1.54)
- HF, HR
- 1.65 (95% CI, 1.37-2.00)
- increased risks found for some CVD subtypes
Overall CVD, sibling analyses
- Associations also found in sibling analyses
Mediation of any diabetes–offspring CVD association
- Congenital heart disease mediated
- 31.87%
- Preterm birth mediated
- 16.06%
- Large for gestational age mediated
- 14.18%
- directly and/or indirectly mediated
Original publication
Maternal Diabetes and Risk of Early-Onset Cardiovascular Diseases in Offspring. JAMA Cardiol. Published 1 July 2026. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2026.0915
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it