Linda Litwin from the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Silesia will carry out the project “Intergenerational influence of maternal obesity and gestational diabetes on the cardiovascular system and the cardiovascular risk profile in offspring in early childhood”.

Her research, co-financed under the Preludium competition, is to help check whether maternal obesity and gestational diabetes directly interfere with fetal development of the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease at a later age.

The impact of maternal obesity and gestational diabetes and resolution of pregnancy is a particularly important issue for public health, due to the possible long-term health consequences for the offspring. The relationship between obesity and gestational diabetes has been proven to be associated with an increased risk of excessive weight gain in childhood. Gestational diabetes disturbs fetal development, leading to macrosomia, hypertrophy of the heart muscle and dysfunction of the heart.