The purpose of this project is to assess the long-range physiological and psychological development of offspring of diabetic mothers whose pregnancies have been monitored prospectively in regard to carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolism. The reason for initiating a longitudinal follow-up of infants of carefully documented diabetic pregnancies causes significant permanent deviations from normal physiological and psychological development. The goal of the study is to discern possible functional impairments in childhood engendered by metabolic deviations from normal in utero. The organ systems of primary concern are the pancreatic islets, the central nervous system, and the musculo-skeletal system. The function of these systems will be studied in a population of offspring of diabetic mothers of sufficient sample size to demonstrate significant differences from a group of control subjects (matched for maternal age, parity, method of delivery, socioeconomic status, parental education, and ethnicity).
