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Obese women who also have type 2 diabetes are about three times more likely than non-obese non-diabetic women to have a baby with a birth defect and seven times more likely of giving birth to a child with a craniofacial defect such as cleft palate, or abnormal limb development.
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Researchers from Boston University studied nearly 23,000 pregnant women.
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The study considered women with a body mass index (BMI) of 28 or greater to be obese.
- Nearly 6% of all women with type 2 diabetes had babies with major defects, compared with 1.34% of women without diabetes.
Chromosomal birth defects, such as Down Sydrome, were not included in the study data.
The current findings support observations made in other studies suggesting that maternal obesity and type 2 diabetes raise the risk of congenital defects. "Obesity and diabetes mellitus may act synergistically in the pathogenesis of congenital anomalies," conclude the authors.
Epidemiology November, 2000; 11: 689-694
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