Infants of diabetic mothers have a five-fold higher incidence of congenital heart disease compared to the general population, highlighting the need for careful clinical and electrocardiographic evaluation.
May support enhanced cardiac screening in infants of diabetic mothers; extends prior observations but leaves practice change open.
A review of 470 infants of diabetic mothers followed at the Joslin Clinic, Boston, revealed a 4 per cent incidence of proved congenital heart disease, five times the number expected to appear in the general population. Transposition of the great arteries, ventricular septal defect, and coarctation of the aorta together composed over one half of the 19 cases reported. No relationship between gestational factors and incidence of heart defects was observed. Although no single specific clue exists to identify congenital heart disease in infants of diabetic mothers, the abnormal electrocardiogram, presence of cyanosis without radiographic evidence of pulmonary disease, or significant murmur should bring attention to the likelihood of heart disease.
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Rowland et al. (1974) studied this question.
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