What causes low blood sugar in children?

Some children do not absorb enough nutrients while in their mother's body, so they will have low blood sugar problems after birth. If a child has low blood sugar, he or she will often feel in a bad mental state, not want to move, and in severe cases may also experience dizziness and other symptoms. Therefore, children with low blood sugar should be supplemented with nutrition in time to enhance their immunity. So, what is the reason for low blood sugar in children?

Due to malnutrition in the womb, premature babies due to insufficient gestational period, and the smaller baby of twins due to less blood supply in the womb, the amount of glycogen stored in the body is less, while the amount of glycogen required for brain cell metabolism is not low, and the adrenaline response is not active, so hypoglycemia is easy to occur.

2. Neonatal hyperinsulinemia

Infants of diabetic mothers may have transient hyperinsulinemia. After birth, this type of newborn has high blood sugar in the mother, which leads to high blood sugar in the fetus, stimulating fetal pancreatic islet proliferation and hypersecretion of insulin, resulting in macrosomia. After delivery, the baby suddenly loses the high concentration of glucose supplied by the mother, but insulin secretion remains vigorous. At the same time, the secretion of glucagon decreases, so the production of endogenous glucose decreases, making hypoglycemia more likely to occur.

Hyperinsulinemia can occur at any age, and neonatal hyperinsulinemia may not be caused by diabetic mothers.

4. Lack of endocrine hormones

Simple growth hormone deficiency or panpituitarism, and/or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-glucocorticoid deficiency, reduce the enzyme activity and substrate production of gluconeogenesis, gluconeogenesis disorders, and hypoglycemia when fasting. For people with adrenal medulla deficiency, when blood sugar decreases, the secretion of adrenaline does not increase, glycogenolysis cannot be promoted, blood sugar cannot rise, and often remains at a low level. Glucagon deficiency can also cause hypoglycemia.

Maple syrup urine disease, glycogen storage disease, and gluconeogenesis disorders can cause hypoglycemia.

6. Enzyme deficiency and other causes

Others include liver damage; drug poisoning; reduced intestinal absorption; and difficult-to-control hypoglycemia.