Children Born to Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Not at Greater Risk for Obesity, Says Study

New Zealand: A new cohort study published in The Journal of Pediatrics offers reassuring news for parents and healthcare providers concerned about the long-term health effects of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on children. Contrary to previous assumptions, the research found that in-utero exposure to GDM does not significantly increase the risk of overweight or obesity in children aged three to seven years.

The study, conducted between June 2022 and May 2024, tracked 699 children with a mean age of 5.6 years. Among them, 295 (42.2%) had been exposed to maternal GDM during pregnancy. Oluwatoyin I. Oladimeji, Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand, and colleagues compared various health parameters between children exposed to GDM and those not, adjusting for factors such as socioeconomic status and gestational weight gain.

The study led to the following findings:

  • Children exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) had lower BMI z-scores.
  • These children showed reduced enjoyment of food.
  • There was a slightly higher risk of hyperactivity among the GDM-exposed group.
  • There was no increased risk of overweight or obesity in children exposed to GDM.
  • The adjusted relative risk (aRR) for overweight or obesity in the exposed group was 0.69, indicating no significant difference from unexposed peers.
  • There were no notable differences between the two groups in emotional or behavioral problems.
  • The risk of neurodevelopmental disorders was similar in both groups.
  • Incidence of atopic conditions and diabetes did not differ significantly between the exposed and unexposed children.
  • The study’s findings challenge earlier research linking GDM exposure to long-term metabolic and neurodevelopmental risks.
  • Potential confounding factors such as maternal BMI, gestational weight gain, ethnicity, and access to nutrition and physical activity were carefully adjusted for in the analysis.

“This research is encouraging as it suggests that with appropriate treatment during pregnancy, GDM may not pose a long-term risk for key health concerns like obesity or neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” the researchers wrote.

However, the study did acknowledge certain limitations. It may have lacked sufficient power to detect small differences in some outcomes. Additionally, data for several outcomes were incomplete or collected solely through parental reporting, which, while often reliable, may introduce subjective bias. Importantly, the study did not adjust for dietary intake or physical activity levels in children, both of which can influence weight and health outcomes.

Despite these limitations, the authors concluded that children exposed to treated GDM are not at higher risk of obesity or major health concerns compared to those unexposed. These results could help ease anxieties among expectant mothers diagnosed with GDM and encourage ongoing focus on effective prenatal care.

The study provides strong evidence supporting the importance of timely diagnosis and proper management of GDM during pregnancy, highlighting that appropriate intervention can neutralize long-term health risks for children.

Reference:

Oladimeji, O. I., Ohene-Agyei, P., Liu, Q., Lin, L., Gamble, G., Crowther, C. A., & Harding, J. E. (2025). In Utero Exposure to Gestational Diabetes and Child Health at Age Three to Seven: A Cohort Study. The Journal of Pediatrics, 114639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114639

Powered by WPeMatico

New pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment offers hope for patients in advanced stage of disease: NEJM

A relatively new therapy used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in those with mild to moderate disease was found to be effective at preventing death in those with more advanced disease. Results were published on Wednesday, May 28, in The New England Journal of Medicine and could have “transformative implications” for patients, according to an editorial that accompanied the study written by Bradley Maron, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hypertension Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

When the US Food and Drug approved the first-in-its-class drug, called sotatercept, last year, it was indicated only for those with mild pulmonary arterial hypertension to increase exercise capacity and prevent clinical worsening of the lung condition which is rare but progressive, often leading to premature death. About 1,000 Americans are diagnosed with the condition every year, and women under age 60 are at higher risk. The condition, caused by a narrowing of small arteries throughout the lungs, triggers the heart to work harder and eventually lose its ability to effectively pump blood.

The clinical trial, called Zenith, was led by researchers in France and conducted at several clinical sites in the U.S. and internationally. It involved 172 patients with advanced pulmonary arterial hypertension who were randomly assigned to get an injection of sotatercept along with their usual treatments or to get a placebo injection along with their usual treatments.

“The authors observed a 76 percent lower risk of a primary endpoint event [death from any cause, lung transplantation, or hospitalization] with sotatercept than with a placebo – a staggering effect by any standard by uniquely relevant in pulmonary arterial hypertension, since previous trials have typically shown comparatively modest results with weaker end points,” wrote Dr. Maron, who is also Director of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing. Dr. Maron was not involved in the study and provided an independent assessment of the study findings.

The trial was stopped early after it became clear that the sotatercept group had significant benefits over those taking a placebo: 50 percent of the placebo group were hospitalized during the trial compared to only 9 percent of the sotatercept group. Death occurred in 15 percent of those on a placebo compared to 8 percent of those on sotatercept.

Vascular malformations and bleeding events occurred in some patients taking sotatercept, but this did not lead them to stop taking the drug. Nonetheless, better understanding of how these side effects could relate to patient adherence to sotatercept in actual clinical practice is needed, according to Dr. Maron.

“Results from the Zenith trial,” he wrote, “offer a key measure of optimism to patients with advanced-stage pulmonary arterial hypertension with limited or no options.”

Reference:

Bradley A. Maron, Sotatercept and the Clinical Transformation of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, New England Journal of Medicine, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe2503944.

Powered by WPeMatico

New way of measuring blood pressure could be a lifeline for thousands of people

A new method improving the accuracy of interpreting blood pressure measurements taken at the ankle could be crucial for people who cannot have their arm blood pressure measured.

Powered by WPeMatico

Prolonged use of desogestrel pill linked to small increased brain tumor risk

Taking the progestogen-only contraceptive pill desogestrel continuously for more than five years is associated with a small increased risk of developing a type of brain tumor called an intracranial meningioma, finds a study from France published by The BMJ.

Powered by WPeMatico

New index ranks 917 European cities on urban design for health and well-being

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has unveiled a new tool: the Healthy Urban Design Index (HUDI). The HUDI is a composite index that evaluates 917 European cities based on 13 indicators connected to peoples’ health and well-being and divided into four domains: urban design, sustainable transport, environmental quality and green space accessibility.

Powered by WPeMatico

Doctors raise concern over rise in recreational ketamine use

The rise in non-prescribed ketamine use across the UK in recent years is a cause for concern, say doctors in The BMJ.

Powered by WPeMatico

Among new dads, 64% take less than two weeks of leave after baby is born

When it comes to family leave, American fathers are left behind. In a survey of new fathers led by scientists at Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 64% of fathers reported taking less than two weeks of leave or no leave after the birth of their child. Only 36% of dads reported taking more than two weeks of leave. The survey is the first of a state-representative sample of fathers.

Powered by WPeMatico

Zydus gets USFDA EIR for Ankleshwar API facility

Ahmedabad: Zydus has announced that the company has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) report from the US Food and Drugs Administration (US FDA) for the inspection conducted at its API manufacturing facility located
at Ankleshwar.

This facility underwent an inspection from 10th to 14th March 2025, and the
inspection has been classified as No Action Indicated (NAI). NAI means no objectionable conditions or practices were found during the inspection.

The USFDA has concluded that
this inspection is “closed”. 

Read also: Zydus Lifesciences venture capital arm to acquire stake in Agenus for USD 16 million

Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. is an innovative, global lifesciences company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of healthcare therapies. The group employs 27,000 people worldwide, including 1,400 scientists engaged in R & D. Over the last decade, Zydus has introduced several innovative, first-in-class products in the market for treating unmet healthcare needs with vaccines, therapeutics, biologicals and biosimilars.

Read also: Zydus Lifesciences to acquire India, Sri Lanka rights for Agenus cancer immunotherapy BOT/BAL

Powered by WPeMatico

Rourkela ESIC Beneficiaries Demand Dedicated Occupational Disease Centre

Rourkela: Hundreds of insured workers staged a protest in front of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Model Hospital in Rourkela on Monday, raising several demands and voicing their grievances. 

The protest was organised under the banner of the Sundargarh Industrial Mazdoor Union, affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The demonstrators called for the conversion of the current 50-bed model hospital into a dedicated Occupational Disease Centre and Public Health Unit. They also pressed for the establishment of a full-fledged ESIC Medical College and Hospital (MCH) in Rourkela to cater to the growing needs of the region’s industrial workforce.

Jehangir Ali, vice-president of CITU’s Odisha unit, criticised the deteriorating services at the model hospital, attributing the decline to the recent transfer of 10 experienced doctors, including several specialists and the medical superintendent, to the new ESIC hospital at Angul.

According to the news reports, the model hospital at Rourkela currently has only 16 doctors against the sanctioned strength of 28. Protesters demanded that the government take immediate action to fill all vacant doctor positions to ensure adequate healthcare services.

Also Read: Dr Mansukh Mandaviya to Inaugurate 220-bed ESIC Hospital in Ranchi

Speaking to TNIE, Ali further said the western Odisha region has around 12 lakh ESIC beneficiaries, including their dependents, who are mostly tribals. They face a higher risk of occupational health hazards and endure healthcare inequalities. A dedicated occupational disease centre would serve as a regional diagnostic, treatment, and research hub focusing on industrial illness.

Similarly, a public health unit would ensure outreach, preventive care, health education and early detection services. There is also a need for setting up of ESIC MCH at Rourkela in the larger health interest of the beneficiaries, he added, reports TNIE.

Also Read: ESIC Plans to Establish 10 New Medical Colleges Across India

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that Union Minister of Labour and Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, announced that the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has given in-principle approval for the establishment of 10 new ESIC medical colleges across the country.

Powered by WPeMatico

India reports over 200 XFG COVID-19 cases, Experts call it natural evolution

New Delhi: As India records more than 200 cases of the newly identified COVID-19 XFG variant, Dr Balram Bhargava, former Director General of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), emphasised that the emergence of the XFG variant is part of the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2.

Dr Bhargava was part of the team at the forefront of managing the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The emergence of the XFG variant is part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s natural evolution,” he said.

His statement comes as India’s active COVID-19 cases crossed 7,000 as of June 11, with over 300 added in the last 24 hours and six deaths recorded in the same period, data from the Union Health Ministry shows, news agency PTI reported.

Also Read:163 cases of new COVID-19 variant XFG found in India, says INSACOG

According to the latest data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), 206 cases have been linked to XFG variant, with the highest count of 89 infections coming from Maharashtra, followed by West Bengal reporting 49.

Dr Bhargava said the XFG variant of SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) carries mutations which may improve its ability of binding to human cells and bypassing immune defences.

“Early reports suggest that the variant has high immune escape potential, but there is no current evidence to indicate (an) increased severity (of disease),” he said.

Other states reporting infections due to the XFG variant are Kerala (15), Tamil Nadu (16), Gujarat (11), Madhya Pradesh (6), Andhra Pradesh (6), Odisha (4), Puducherry (3), Delhi (2), Rajasthan (2), and Punjab, Telangana and Haryana (one each).

However, similar to how the virus adapts, so has India’s diagnostic infrastructure since the first wave of the pandemic, and the RT-PCR test, or ‘reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction’ — which detects the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 in samples — remains its cornerstone, the cardiologist said.

He added that the widespread deployment of platforms such as Truenat — a rapid molecular diagnostic test that uses RT-PCR technology for diagnosis — puts India in a strong position to detect and contain emerging variants swiftly, even in remote and resource-limited settings.

Point-of-care testing, which detects antibodies in blood, played a crucial role during the pandemic then, and it continues to be a frontline tool for detecting emerging variants, such as XFG, Dr Bhargava said.

“Vigilance is critical now, and not panic. As we have done in the past, we should continue testing when symptomatic, masking in crowded spaces, and staying up to date with vaccinations”, he said.

India has seen 74 deaths in the current surge in COVID-19 cases, which started January this year. Kerala continues to be the most affected with over 2,200 cases, followed by Gujarat (1223) and Delhi (757).

Official sources have said that most cases are mild and can be managed under home care, even as all states have been instructed to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines, amidst rising cases of COVID-19, reports PTI.

INSACOG data also shows that 21 of the newly emerging cases are linked to the LF.7 variant — Maharashtra and Gujarat reporting the highest with six cases each — and two to the NB.1.8.1 variant — one each in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Also Read:Maharashtra reports 91 cases of new Covid subvariant FLiRT

Powered by WPeMatico