Background
There is an increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes all over the world, including among women of childbearing age. Metformin has been used to treat diabetes since 1958 and is recommended as a first-line oral treatment for type 2 diabetes and is also used as an effective treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus and infertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Metformin is widely prescribed during pregnancy, but the guidelines regarding use during pregnancy vary widely, as it depends on safety since metformin can cross the placenta and thus has the potential to cause negative effects on the developing fetus
Aim
The project aims to evaluate the impact of maternal metformin exposure during pregnancy on several adverse pregnancy outcomes including birth defects and thereby give insight into metformin as an underlying factor for decreasing reproductive health.
Data
The analyses will be based on national data from several Danish nationwide registries, including the Central Person Registry, the Danish Medical Birth Registry, the Danish National Patient Registry, and the Prescription Registry.
Funding
Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Faculty Scholarship.
Supervisors
- Professor Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen (main supervisor), EBB,/SDU
- Professor Niels E Skakkebæk, Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet
- Professor Elisabeth Reinhardt Mathiesen, Centre for Pregnant Women with Diabetes, Department of Endocrinology, Rigshospitalet