OBJECTIVE: To analyse whether hypertension during pregnancy is associated with early signs of impaired glucose metabolism in the offspring. DESIGN: Longitudinal study with a 5-year follow-up. SETTING: University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fasting levels of glucose, insulin and C-peptide. SUBJECTS: Thirty-six children were born to mothers with hypertension in pregnancy. The children were divided into two groups according to their mothers' blood pressure at follow-up 7-12 years after pregnancy. Nineteen children had hypertensive mothers (HT), while 17 children had normotensive mothers at follow-up (NT). A control group (C) comprised 16 children, who were born after normotensive pregnancies to mothers who remained normotensive. RESULTS: Fasting plasma glucose was significantly higher in HT than in NT (5.2 vs. 4.9 mmol L-1; P