According to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, children of mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity. More than 100 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States since 2019, and there is limited information on the long-term health effects of infection. Pregnant women account for 9% of reproductive-age women with Covid-19, and millions of children will be exposed to maternal infection during fetal development over the next five years.
“Our findings suggest that children exposed to maternal COVID-19 in utero have an altered growth pattern early in life, which may, over time, lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” said Lindsey T. Foreman, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital. may increase the risk of disease.” in Boston, Mass., adding that “a lot of research is still needed to understand the effects of Covid-19 on pregnant women and their babies.”
Researchers studied 150 babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy and found they had a lower birth weight and a higher birth weight in the first year of life than 130 babies born to mothers who had COVID-19. There was no prenatal infection. These changes are associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease during childhood and beyond. “Our findings emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up of children exposed to maternal Covid-19 infection in utero as well as comprehensive implementation of Covid-19 prevention strategies among pregnant individuals,” said Andrea G. Edlo, MD. of Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “Larger studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm these associations.
Also Read: High Blood Sugar: 10 Uncommon Symptoms Of Diabetes You Shouldn’t Ignore
Other authors on this study are Mollie W Oken, Samuel C Russo, Hang Li, Takara L Stanley, Ingrid L Ma, Mabel Toribio, Lydia L Shook, and Steven K Grinspoon from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; and Boston Carmen Monthe-Drez of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in , Mass.
The study received funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard, Boston area. Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, American Heart Association and Simmons Foundation.