A new study found that pregnant women who took the diabetes and ** drug Ozempu during pregnancy did not appear to cause harm to the development of the fetus.
The researchers found that newborns who took medication to control type 2 diabetes did not have an increased risk of birth defects compared to women who took insulin.
In a decade-long study, researchers found an increase in people using medications to control diabetes rather than relying on insulin injections.
In particular, GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide have become more popular over time.
As type 2 diabetes becomes more prevalent in women of childbearing age, and with the recent approval of GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide for obesity, the number of pregnancies exposed to these drugs is likely to increase," said Carolyn Cesta, principal investigator and assistant professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. "Our findings preliminarily confirm the safety of these drugs for fetal exposure during pregnancy. ”
GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking the function of GLP-1, a naturally occurring hormone produced in the small intestine.
Both hormones and medications slow stomach emptying, increase feelings of fullness, and control hormones related to blood sugar levels, such as insulin and glucagon.
For the study, Cesta and her colleagues analyzed the results of more than 3.5 million pregnancies performed in the United States, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Israel between 2009 and 2021.
Of these pregnancies, there are about 15% occur in women with type 2 diabetes.
Between three months before and three months after pregnancy, nearly 3 in 10 pregnant women with diabetes are prescribed a dose of diabetes medication.
The researchers found that, overall, about 5 of babies whose mothers had type 2 diabetes were born6% of babies are born with a defect, compared to only 3 in the general population8% of babies are born with a defect.
In particular, when the researchers turned their attention to heart defects, they found that the same as the general neonatal population of 1Babies born to mothers with type 2 diabetes had heart defects at a rate of 3% compared to 23%。
However, the researchers found that those whose mothers took diabetes medications did not have a greater risk of birth defects than those who took diabetes medications to control their blood sugar with insulin.
These diabetes medications include GLP-1 receptor agonists, sulfonylureas, DPP-4 inhibitors, and SGLT2 inhibitors.
The new study was published Dec. 11 in the American Medical Association Journal of Internal Medicine.
As more parents and health care providers look for evidence of the safety of these drugs, our research can inform their decision-making," said Sonia Hernández-Díaz, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, at a Harvard news conference. This is a senior study author.
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The American Diabetes Association has more information about diabetes medications.
*: Harvard Th.Chan School of Public Health, press release, December 11, 2023. Concise version: The School of Public Health issued a press release explaining the situation.
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