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Micronutrients in Pregnancy as a Risk Factor for Diabetes and Effects on Mother and Baby

NCT03008824 · Status: UNKNOWN · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 4500

Last updated 2017-01-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

There is a rapidly escalating epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes across the world, with the fastest rise occurring in low- and middle-income countries. India not only has one of the highest rates in the world, but the disease starts at a younger age and lower levels of body weight than in UK white caucasians. Among city-dwelling Indians, approximately 8% of people aged 30-40 years already have diabetes. This is creating a heavy burden of disease and disability, and an intolerable economic burden through medical costs and lost earnings. Until now, efforts to prevent diabetes have mainly focussed on modifying the diet, lifestyle and activity of at-risk adults (for example those who are overweight, have a family history of diabetes or already have high blood sugar). However, recent research has indicated that factors acting in early life (during development in the womb) place an individual at risk of later diabetes. These include maternal malnutrition and low birthweight, and diabetes in the mother during pregnancy. Our research has shown that Indian mothers often have low vitamin B12 levels, which in turn causes high blood levels of a harmful metabolite (homocysteine). We have shown that these mothers get more diabetes in pregnancy. Their children are more likely to born with a low birth weight, and develop more body fat and higher plasma insulin levels during childhood, which are signs of higher diabetes risk in later life. The risk is increased further if the mother has normal or high status for another B vitamin, folate. Thus, we have shown, for the first time a link between a specific nutritional deficiency in the mother and diabetes risk in the next generation. One possible mechanism for the effect of maternal nutrition on risk of diabetes in her children is through epigenetic effects, whereby the nutritional environment during early development affects the switches that control gene expression. Since these switches are passed on via either parent, we think it is possible that paternal vitamin B12 status could also be important.

Conditions

  • Gestational Diabetes

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Warwick

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ponnusamy Saravanan, FRCP PhD · University of Warwick

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2012-09-30
Primary Completion
2017-06-30
Completion
2018-06-30

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03008824 on ClinicalTrials.gov