In the Focus Group Preventive Pediatrics (2015-2017), Anna Boyksen Fellow Prof. Regina Ensenauer (University Hospital of Düsseldorf) and her host Prof. Renate Oberhoffer (Preventive Pediatrics, TUM), collaborated with PD Dr. Annette Wacker-Gußmann (Preventive Pediatrics) and PD Dr. Silvia Lobmaier (Women’s Hospital). Often the consequence of an unhealthy lifestyle, diseases of the cardiovascular system currently eventually cause the death of more than half of the world population, and can be diagnosed already in an increasingly young age. Vessel changes that precede cardiovascular diseases can already be found in children and teenagers; it is the chair of Preventive Pediatrics particular expertise to diagnose these vessel changes with a non-invasive approach. An increasing number of studies show that already in early childhood and even before birth, cardiovascular anomalies, triggered by metabolic changes, can be detected. This group will focus on gestational diabetes and the influence of metabolic changes on the pre- and postnatal vascular health of women and children with an early preventive and transgenerational approach, thus falling under the field of gender and diversity research. To achieve this, Prof. Ensenauer’s expertise in the subject of metabolism is necessary to complement the existing cardiovascular preventive medical research at TUM.
Longterm goals of the project include
- A quantitative survey of arterial stiffness as an early functional indicator of vascular damage in comparison to structural changes (IMT) in women with gestational diabetes (during pregnancy and post partum)
- An examination of structural-vascular damages in fetuses and, additionally, aortal distensibility in newborns
- Evidence of a metabolic dysregulation in umbilical cord blood of children of mothers with gestational diabetes
- Identification of the relation of metabolic changes in cord blood to the degree of vascular anomalities in fetuses, newborns and mothers
Publications by the Focus Group
