Metformin and Birth defect in boys are Interlinked

Male children of fathers who took metformin, an antidiabetic drug, were found to have 3.4 times higher incidences of genital and urinary birth defects, a recent study has found. The defects included issues like urethral problems and undescended testicles. Diabetes is an increasing problem in people of reproductive age and the disease itself can deteriorate the quality of sperms in turn causing fertility issues. However, a recent study shows the treatment of diabetes causes fertility issues rather than the disease itself.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and Stanford University studied data from nationwide national registries of births, patients, and prescriptions to evaluate whether the risk for birth defects varied among offspring born to men treated with insulin, metformin, or sulfojnylureas prior to conception. Babies were considered exposed to a diabetes drug if their father filled at least 1 prescription during the 3 months when the fertilizing sperm were developing.

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