This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Fetal exposure to metformin increases head circumference, BMI
ORLANDO, Fla. — Intrauterine exposure to metformin in children of mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome may increase head circumference at age 1 year and BMI at age 4 years compared with children whose mothers received placebo, according to a presenter here.
Liv Guro Engen Hanem, a PhD candidate in the department of laboratory medicine, children’s and women’s health, faculty of medicine and health sciences, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and colleagues evaluated data from 182 children of mothers with PCOS who were randomly assigned to metformin (n = 92) or placebo (n = 90) during pregnancy to determine the effect of intrauterine exposure to metformin on growth in the first 4 years of life.
Norwegian growth references were used to convert weight and height to age- and sex-based z scores.
Weight gain after birth was greater in the metformin group compared with the placebo group, leading to a significant difference in BMI at age 6 months (17.8 kg/m2 vs. 17.1 kg/m2; P = .04), and the differences persisted at age 4 years (16.6 kg/m2 vs. 15.9 kg/m2; P = .006). Head circumference at age 6 months was greater in the metformin group (44.1 cm) compared with the placebo group (43.5 cm; P = .002) and was still greater at age 1 year (46.9 cm vs. 46.5 cm; P = .04).
At age 4 years, the metformin group had a higher BMI (mean z score, 0.49), whereas the placebo group had BMI similar to the reference group (mean z score, 0.03). Both groups had larger head circumference compared with the reference group at age 1 year.
“Metformin during pregnancy in women with PCOS increased the risk of overweight and obesity in their children at 4 years of age,” Hanem told Endocrine Today. “Before we have more robust data on the beneficial effects of metformin on pregnancy complications in women with PCOS, it should be used with caution. More evidence is needed regarding the ability of metformin to prevent pregnancy complications associated with PCOS, especially late miscarriages and preterm delivery. Results from a large randomized controlled trial will be presented later this year.” – by Amber Cox
Reference:
Hanem LG, et al. OR32-3. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting; April 1-4, 2017; Orlando, Fla.
Disclosure: Hanem reports no relevant financial disclosures.
