Covid infection during pregnancy increases obesity risk in kids, says study
Washington (US), March 30: Children born to mothers who had Covid-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity, claims a study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Since 2019, more than 100 million Covid-19 cases have been documented in the United States, and there is little information on the infection's long-term health effects. Pregnant women account for 9% of Covid-19-infected reproductive-aged women, and millions of kids will be exposed to maternal infection throughout foetal development over the next five years.
"Our findings suggest that children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 have an altered growth pattern in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease over time," Lindsay T. Fourman, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass, said.
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"There is still a lot of research needed to understand the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their children."
The researchers studied 150 infants born to Covid-19-infected moms during pregnancy and discovered that they had lower birth weight followed by greater weight increase in the first year of life compared to 130 kids born to uninfected mothers. These changes have been linked to an increased risk of childhood obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
"Our findings emphasise the importance of long-term follow-up of children exposed in utero to maternal Covid-19 infection, as well as the widespread implementation of Covid-19 prevention strategies among pregnant individuals," said Andrea G. Edlow, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital. "Larger studies with longer follow-up duration are needed to confirm these associations."
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- ANI
