ReviewEBioMedicine2018
Metformin from mother to unborn child - Are there unwarranted effects?
Review in EBioMedicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of Metformin With Pregnancy Outcomes in Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2020 · on this mapPooled it
- Metformin Treatment in PCOS Pregnancies Reduces Maternal Infections and Increases the Risk of Allergies and Eczema in the Offspring: Post Hoc Analyses of Two Randomised Controlled Trials and One Follow-Up Study.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Trial
- Metformin exposure, maternal PCOS status and fetal venous liver circulation: A randomized, placebo-controlled study.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Maternal metformin treatment in obese pregnant dams normalizes neonatal sensory-motor reflexes.Molecular and cellular pediatrics · 2026Article
- Metformin and insulin exacerbate one-carbon metabolism deficits in pregnant growth restricted rats and impacts the placenta, fetal liver and pancreas.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- RelA Inhibits Embryonic Myogenesis by Coordinately Regulating a Novel Distal Enhancer of Myogenin.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Predictors of small-for-gestational-age infants in gestational diabetes mellitus: the impact of metformin use.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2025Article
- Metformin use in gestational diabetes is not associated with an increased risk of preterm labor and small for gestational age infants compared to diet control alone.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Long-term effects of metformin on offspring health: A review of current evidence and future directions.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2025Review
- Effect of in utero metformin exposure in gestational diabetes mellitus on infant mesenchymal stem cell metabolism.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Article
- Metformin in gestational diabetes: physiological actions and clinical applications.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2025Review
- Integrating Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) for Personalized Diabetes Care: Advancing Clinical Practice with Tailored Pharmacological Approaches.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2025Review
- Metformin for Treating Gestational Diabetes: What Have We Learned During the Last Two Decades? A Systematic Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Metformin in polycystic ovary syndrome: unraveling multi-stage therapeutic mechanisms from puberty to long-term health outcomes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Efficacy and safety of metformin during pregnancy: an update.Endocrine · 2024Review
- Repurposing Metformin for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: Current Insights.Vascular health and risk management · 2024Review
- Anthropometrics of neonates born to mothers with PCOS with metformin or placebo exposure in utero.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Metformin in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: To Use or Not to Use, That Is the Question.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Metformin: update on mechanisms of action and repurposing potential.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2023Review
- Metformin Impacts Human Syncytiotrophoblast Mitochondrial Function from Pregnancies Complicated by Obesity and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a Sexually Dimorphic Manner.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
For more than 40 years, metformin has been used before and during pregnancy. However, it is important to note that metformin can cross the placenta and circulate in the developing foetus. Recent studies reported that the concentration of metformin in foetal cord blood ranges from half to nearly the same concentration as in the maternal plasma. Since metformin has anti-cell growth and pro-apoptotic effects, there are persistent concerns over the use of metformin in early pregnancy. Current human studies are limited by sample size, lack of controls or, short follow-up durations. In this review, we examine the settings in which metformin can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy and address the current controversies relating to the cellular and molecular mechanisms of metformin. Our efforts highlight the need for more data on the effects of metformin on general offspring health as well as further scrutiny into foetal development upon exposure to metformin.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.