How diabetes medicines during pregnancy affect long-term health of moms and children
Official title: Comparing the effects of pharmacological treatment for gestational diabetes on long-term maternal and child health outcomes
Funded at Kaiser Foundation Research Institute · NIH-11237624 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows mothers treated with insulin, metformin, or glyburide for gestational diabetes and their children to track health outcomes over many years.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Kaiser Foundation Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oakland, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | December 20, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $671,519 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK138135-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11237624 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People diagnosed with gestational diabetes who required medication (insulin, metformin, or glyburide) during pregnancy would be the ideal candidates represented in this work.
✕Less likely to help
People whose gestational diabetes was managed without medication, those with preexisting type 1 or type 2 diabetes, or those not covered by Kaiser Permanente during 2008–2021 would not be included and may not directly benefit from the results.
What this research studies
You and your child would be followed using electronic health records from Kaiser Permanente to see which medicine was used during pregnancy and what health issues appear later. The team will include pregnancies from 2008–2021 and track families for up to 18 years after delivery. They will compare groups who started insulin, metformin, or glyburide after diet changes, using advanced statistical methods to mimic randomized trials. The large, diverse group (over 44,000 pregnancies) takes advantage of real-world changes in prescribing to learn about long-term risks.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could help doctors pick the medicine during pregnancy that best lowers long-term risks of diabetes for mothers and obesity or heart problems for children.
How similar studies have gone: Short-term trials and smaller studies have compared these drugs in pregnancy, but large long-term evidence on maternal and child outcomes is limited, so this long EHR-based approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
Oakland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hedderson, Monique Marie — Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Hedderson, Monique Marie
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Digital twins of the hypothalamus, placenta, and gut to help manage gestational diabetes
A study using computer-based models of a pregnant person’s brain, placenta, and gut to better understand how gestational diabetes develops and how to tailor treatments.
-
IGF factors and binding proteins in gestational diabetes and fetal growth
A study in pregnant people looks at how insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins affect gestational diabetes and how a baby grows.
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STRONG group prenatal care to reduce gestational diabetes in American Samoa
A Yale-led program tests a group prenatal care approach to lower gestational diabetes among pregnant Pacific Islander women in American Samoa.
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Pancreatic beta cells, oxidative stress, and gestational diabetes
A study is exploring how oxidative stress and changes in pancreatic beta cells during pregnancy may contribute to gestational diabetes and future diabetes risk for both mother and baby.
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NDPP-MAP: A tailored online-hybrid program to reduce long-term health risks after pregnancy with gestational diabetes
A patient-friendly program adapts a proven diabetes prevention approach to help women who had gestational diabetes lower their risk of type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
-
In Vivo Look at Placental Blood Flow in Gestational Diabetes
A non-invasive MRI study in pregnant people with gestational diabetes and those without will map how placental blood vessels work and relate to baby outcomes.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.