Caesarean Babies More Likely to Develop Diabetes

Babies delivered by Caesarean section have a 20% higher risk than normal deliveries of developing the most common type of diabetes in childhood, according to a study led by Queen's University, Belfast.

The team, led by Dr Chris Cardwell and Dr Chris Patterson, examined 20 published studies from 16 countries including around 10,000 children with Type 1 diabetes and over a million control children.

They found a 20% increase in the risk of children born by C-section developing the disease. The increase could not be explained by factors such as birth weight, the age of the mother, order of birth, gestational diabetes and whether the baby was breast-fed or not, all factors associated with childhood diabetes in previous studies.

"This study revealed a consistent 20 per cent increase in the risk of Type 1 diabetes. It is important to stress that the reason for this is still not understood. It is possible that children born by Caesarean section differ from other children with respect to some unknown characteristic which consequently increases their risk of diabetes, but it is also possible that Caesarean section itself is responsible,” said Dr Cardwell, from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences. 

“Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system destroys the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, and one theory suggests that being born by Caesarean section may affect the development of the immune system because babies are first exposed to bacteria originating from the hospital environment rather than to maternal bacteria,” he explained.

Diabetes is a serious condition that, if not managed, can lead to fatal complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and amputations. Over 20% of babies born in Ireland are delivered by Caesarean section, which is significantly higher that the World Health Organisation’s recommended rate of 15%.

Posted Wednesday 3rd September 2008