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FOR THE JOURNAL

Researchers at Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina are working to discover whether or not pregnant women who suffer from obesity and diabetes can pass on those problems to their children.

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FOR THE JOURNAL

Studies show that mothers-to-be, especially among African American and Hispanic populations, are more likely to be obese and have diabetes during pregnancy, which could affect their children later in life.

The news of pregnancy in a loving family is reason to celebrate, as it is always a joyous occasion.

Even though motherhood comes with numerous doctor’s visits and check ups, the health of an unborn child may already be compromised.

That’s what researchers at Clemson University (CU) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) are aiming to find out.

The collaborative effort between the two universities was awarded $735,000 to study the effects of a mother’s obesity and diabetic standing on infants in specific ethnic groups.

CU professor Maria Mayorga and MUSC professor Kelly Hunt will team up for three years.

“We will use a discrete event simulation (DES) model to predict the impact of maternal obesity and diabetes during pregnancy,” Mayorga said. “We’ll also study the prevalence of obesity and diabetes in subsequent generations of African-Americans, non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics.”

And while doctors already recommend that women get to a healthy weight before they conceive, studies point to an increased risk for both mother and child if a woman’s weight remains high.

Women of average weight, with a body mass index (BMI) of 18 to 24, should gain about 25-35 pounds during pregnancy.

A woman who is already classified as overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29, should gain only about 15 to 25 pounds.

And according to Mayorga, obesity prior to pregnancy and high weight gain during pregnancy predispose women to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and early onset of type 2 diabetes.

“Maternal diabetes during gestation exposes the fetus to hyperglycemia, resulting in increased fetal insulin levels that both promote the storage of excess energy as fat and act as a growth factor,” she said. “Exposure to maternal diabetes early in pregnancy is associated with birth defects, and later in pregnancy is associated with high birth weight, increased childhood and adult obesity and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Children exposed in utero to maternal diabetes are at higher risk of obesity and diabetes than their unexposed siblings, suggesting that the increased risk to the exposed offspring is not exclusively genetic.”

If this remains the case, Mayorga said obesity and diabetes not only will continue to affect all populations, but ethnic groups that are already at risk for the diseases will continue to be disproportionately affected.

“Members of the two largest minority groups in the U.S. — African-American and Hispanic women — are more likely to be obese and have diabetes during pregnancy than non-Hispanic white women,” Mayorga said. “Their body fat is distributed differently, their diabetes is more severe and they have a higher risk of cardiovascular problems than non-Hispanic whites. These issues of racial-ethnic differences in the intrauterine environment have been explored by a small number of researchers and, if left as is, may continue to perpetuate themselves.”

But in the end, Mayorga said she is thrilled to be able to pinpoint these problems and give new mothers a better idea of why it is so important to keep a watchful eye on their health.

“As a new Hispanic mother myself, I think that understanding that my health could affect not only my children but my children’s children provided motivation for me to maintain a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy,” she said. “Thus, in the long run, I hope that awareness could lead to a break in the cycle of obesity and diabetes in families.”

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