Thursday, June 1, 2023
Physicians - maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
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IPCE - 0.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit
This activity is intended for diabetologists/endocrinologists, cardiologists, family medicine/primary care clinicians, internists, obstetricians/gynecologists/women’s health clinicians, pediatricians, public health and prevention officials, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, and other members of the healthcare team for pregnant women with COVID-19.
The goal of this activity is for members of the healthcare team to be better able to describe longitudinal growth trajectories among infants with vs without in utero COVID-19 exposure, according to a longitudinal cohort study.
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CME / ABIM MOC / CE Released: 5/12/2023
Valid for credit through: 5/12/2024
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Note: The information on the coronavirus outbreak is continually evolving. The content within this activity serves as a historical reference to the information that was available at the time of this publication. We continue to add to the collection of activities on this subject as new information becomes available. It is the policy of Medscape Education to avoid the mention of brand names or specific manufacturers in accredited educational activities. However, manufacturer names related to the approved COVID-19 vaccines are provided in this activity in an effort to promote clarity. The use of manufacturer names should not be viewed as an endorsement by Medscape of any specific product or manufacturer.
Among reproductive-aged women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 9% are pregnant. Intrauterine environment may modulate offspring health, including growth patterns in early life, over the life course via effects on fetal programming.
Compared with similarly aged nonpregnant women, pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely to have severe disease. Despite low rates of vertical transmission, pregnancies complicated by COVID-19 are more susceptible to preterm birth, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia, and placentas from these pregnancies have marked inflammation at the maternal-fetal interface.
Compared with infants who were not exposed to COVID-19 in the womb, infants who were exposed had a lower weight and body mass index (BMI) at birth, but greater weight gain, during the first year of life, according to a new analysis.
This "exaggerated growth pattern observed among infants with COVID-19 exposure may in some cases be a catch-up response to a prenatal growth deficit," Mollie W. Ockene and colleagues wrote in a report published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.[1]
Given that lower birth weight and accelerated postnatal weight gain are risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, the findings, however, "raise concern" about whether children born to mothers with prenatal COVID-19 go on to develop obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease (CVD), senior co-authors Andrea G. Edlow, MD, and Lindsay T. Fourman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, told Medscape Medical News in an email.
Further studies in larger numbers of patients with longer follow-up and detailed assessments are needed, the researchers said, but this points to "a potentially increased cardiometabolic disease risk for the large global population of children with in utero COVID-19 exposure."
It will be "important for clinicians caring for children with in utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 to be aware of this history," Edlow and Fourman added, "and to view the child's growth trajectory and metabolic risk factors in a holistic context that includes this prenatal infection exposure."
COVID-19 Vaccination Important Before and During PregnancyThe study also underscored the importance of primary prevention of COVID-19 among women who are contemplating pregnancy or who are already pregnant, the researchers noted, "including the need for widespread implementation of protective measures such as indoor masking and COVID-19 vaccination and boosting during or prior to pregnancy."
"Given the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on historically marginalized populations, adverse health outcomes following in utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 may threaten to widen existing disparities in child health," Edlow and Fourman added.
On the other hand, although "COVID-19 vaccination rates lagged behind in minority populations following the initial vaccine rollout," they noted, "these differences have fortunately narrowed over time, particularly for Hispanic individuals, though they do still persist in the Black population," according to a recent report.[2]
BMI Trajectories During First Year of LifeIn utero exposure to COVID-19 has been linked to fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality, including stillbirth, preterm birth, preeclampsia, and gestational hypertension, but less is known about infant outcomes during the first year of life.
The researchers aimed to compare weight, length, and BMI trajectories over the first year of life in infants with vs without in utero exposure to COVID-19.
They identified 149 infants with in utero exposure to COVID-19 and 127 unexposed infants; all were born between March 30, 2020 and May 30, 2021 to mothers who participated in the Mass General Brigham COVID-19 Perinatal Biorepository.
The study excluded infants whose mothers received the vaccine (n = 5) or who had unclear vaccination status during pregnancy (n = 4) to reduce sample heterogeneity.
At the time of the study, few women had received the COVID-19 vaccine because vaccines were approved by the FDA for emergency use in December 2020 and the CDC recommended them for all pregnant women much later, in August 2021.[3]
The researchers examined the weight, length, and BMI of the infants at birth, and at 2, 6, and 12 months, standardized using World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts.
Compared with mothers who did not have COVID-19 during pregnancy, mothers who had COVID-19 were younger (mean age, 32 vs 34 years) and had a higher earliest BMI during pregnancy (29 ± 7 vs 26 ± 6 kg/m2) and greater parity (previous births, excluding the index pregnancy, 1.2 vs 0.9), and they were more likely to be Hispanic or Black and less likely to have private insurance.
Compared with infants not exposed to COVID-19 in utero, infants who were exposed were more likely to be male (47% vs 55%).
Both infant groups were equally likely to be breastfed (90%).
Compared with the unexposed infants, infants born to mothers with prenatal COVID-19 had lower BMI z-scores at birth (effect size, −0.35; P = .03) and greater gain in BMI z-scores from birth to 12 months (effect size, 0.53; P = .03), but they had similar length at birth and over 12 months, after adjusting for maternal age at delivery, ethnicity, parity, insurance status, and earliest BMI during pregnancy, as well as infant sex, date of birth, and if applicable, history of breastfeeding.
The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Centers, American Heart Association, and Simons Foundation. Ockene has reported no relevant financial relationships. Edlow has reported being a consultant for Mirvie and receiving research funding from Merck & Co., Inc. outside the study. Fourman has reported serving as a consultant and receiving grant funding to her institution from Amryt outside the study. Disclosures for the other authors are listed with the article.
