E-Paper
Pune’s KEM hosp study to reduce children’s susceptibility to type 2 diabetes
According to the researchers, children born to diabetic parents and children who are underweight at birth are genetically likely to develop type 2 Diabetes
Researchers at the city-based KEM Hospital have initiated a study to decrease the children’s susceptibility to type 2 Diabetes from the time they are inside their mothers’ wombs. According to the researchers, children born to diabetic parents and children who are underweight at birth are genetically very likely to develop type 2 Diabetes in future.
The study titled ‘Pune Rural Intervention in Young Adolescents (PRIYA) Follow-up’ was started a week ago and includes 200 children (100 boys and 100 girls) aged six to 10 years from the rural parts of Pune. The 557-odd parents of these 200 children are part of the original PRIYA programme and were adolescents when it began in 2012 and ended last month. The PRIYA programme aims to reduce the children’s susceptibility to type 2 Diabetes since the time they are inside their mothers’ wombs by improving nutrition, vitamin and folic supplements, and encouraging expecting mothers to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Chittaranjan S Yajnik, director of the Diabetes unit, KEM Hospital, said that India has a huge diabetic burden and has the highest number of children who are born underweight. “Children born to diabetic parents have a genetic susceptibility to developing type 2 Diabetes through precipitating factors such as a sedentary lifestyle largely linked to increase in age and obesity. Following a healthy lifestyle is not possible for everyone and genetic susceptibility cannot be altered. However, there is scope for controlling the precipitating factors,” Dr Yajnik said.
Babies who are underweight at the time of birth are susceptible to type 2 Diabetes in future. The main reason behind children being underweight at the time of birth is malnutrition among the expecting mothers or the foetus receiving inadequate nutrition during the prenatal period. The levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid during pregnancy also affect the growth of the foetus. Hence, the levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid of the expecting mothers should be controlled during pregnancy. Dr Yajnik said that while genetics, diet and exercise are the precipitating factors, infants will not be susceptible to Diabetes in future if the nutritional health of the expecting mothers improves and they follow a healthy lifestyle.
The PRIYA Follow-up programme will continue for the next two years and the health of the 200 adolescents will be closely monitored, Dr Yajnik said. “The Glucose, Insulin, body fat and development of other significant organs such as the brain, pancreas, kidney etc. will be monitored. Vitamins and folic were given to the mothers of these children before they were born. The weight of these babies at birth was good. Tests were carried out when the babies were two to four years’ old and it was found that due to the vitamin B12 given to their mothers, their brain growth is good. PRIYA is probably a one-of-its-kind study in adolescents where we are looking for better outcomes in their children.”
