Question:
From Pennsylvania, USA:
My 4 1/2-year old nephew was diagnosed with Type 1 when he was 2 1/2. Within hours of his birth, his blood sugar "crashed" and he remained in the hospital for 5 days because his blood sugar was not stabilized. There was nothing mentioned about diabetes at the time. Could he have had diabetes then? If not, what could have caused this? (His mother did not have gestational diabetes and there is no family history of Type 1.)
Answer:
There are many reasons for newborn babies to have transient low blood sugar including either large or small birth size or stress at birth. The low blood sugars in this case usually do not recur after the newborn period. Other rare causes include hormone deficiencies and inborn errors of metabolism.
It is unlikely the low blood sugar during the newborn period was related to the subsequent development of diabetes in your nephew.
TGL
Original posting 14 Nov 1998
Posted to Diagnosis and Symptoms
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