IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate if maternal pregnancy exposure to metformin is associated with increased risk of long-term and short-term adverse outcomes in the child.Research design and methods This register-based cohort study from Finland included singleton children born 2004–2016 with maternal pregnancy exposure to metformin or insulin (excluding maternal type 1 diabetes): metformin only (n=3967), insulin only (n=5273) and combination treatment (metformin and insulin; n=889). The primary outcomes were long-term offspring obesity, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, diabetes, hypertension, polycystic ovary syndrome, and challenges in motor–social development. In a sensitivity analysis, the primary outcomes were investigated only among children with maternal gestational diabetes. Secondary outcomes were adverse outcomes at birth. Analyses were conducted using inverse- probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), with insulin as reference.Results  Exposure to metformin or combination treatment versus insulin was not associated with increased risk of long-term outcomes in the main or sensitivity analyses. Among the secondary outcomes, increased risk of small for gestational age (SGA) was observed for metformin (IPTW-weighted OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.34); increased risk of large for gestational age, preterm birth and hypoglycemia was observed for combination treatment. No increased risk was observed for neonatal mortality, hyperglycemia, or major congenital anomalies.Conclusions This study found no increased long-term risk associated with pregnancy exposure to metformin (alone or in combination with insulin), compared with insulin. The increased risk of SGA associated with metformin versus insulin suggests caution in pregnancies with at-risk fetal undernutrition. The increased risks of adverse outcomes at birth associated with combination treatment may reflect confounding by indication or severity.

IntroductionWe previously reported an increased risk of being small for gestational age (SGA) and a decreased risk of being large for gestational age (LGA) after in utero exposure to metformin compared with insulin exposure. This follow-up study investigated if these observations remain when metformin exposure (henceforth, metformin cohort) is compared with non-pharmacological antidiabetic treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM; naïve cohort), instead of insulin.Research design and methods This was a Finnish population register-based cohort study from singleton children born during 2004–2016. Birth outcomes from metformin cohort (n=3964) and the naïve cohort (n=82 675) were used in the main analyses. Additional analyses were conducted in a subcohort, restricting the metformin cohort to children of mothers with GDM only (n=2361). Results were reported as inverse probability of treatment weighted OR (wOR), with the naïve cohort as reference.Results  No difference was found for the outcome of SGA between the cohorts in the main analyses (wOR 0.97, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.27) or in the additional analyses (wOR 1.01, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.37). No difference between the cohorts was found for the risk of LGA (wOR 0.91, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.11) in the main analyses but a decreased risk was observed in the additional analyses (wOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.92).Conclusions This follow-up study found no increase in the risk of SGA or LGA after in utero exposure to metformin, compared with drug-naïve GDM. The decreased risk of LGA in mothers with GDM may suggest residual confounding. The lack of increased SGA risk aligns with findings from studies using metformin in non-diabetic pregnancies. In contrast, lower birth weight and increased SGA birth risk were observed in GDM pregnancies for metformin versus insulin. Metformin should be avoided with emerging growth restriction in utero. The interplay of intrauterine hyperglycemia and pharmacological treatments needs further assessment.

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Introduction Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematological malignancy in Europe and the US. The median survival after diagnosis is approximately 4-5 years (Röllig et al The Lancet 2015), with recent improvement observed in younger (Kyle et al Expert Rev Hematol 2014) and older patients (Kumar et al Leukemia 2013). The improvement in outcomes of MM patients is largely due to the introduction of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and novel treatments including proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulators. Norwegian guidelines state that the preferred frontline treatment for MM patients under 65-70 years old is ASCT, but this option may be limited by comorbidity. Here, we report results from a retrospective, non-interventional study using data collected at the MM registry at Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Norway. The aim was to describe patient and disease characteristics, overall survival (OS), and potential predictors of death for the study population in Norway. Methods The study period was from 1 Jan 2008 to 31 Dec 2015. Patients (n=169) aged 18 years or older at MM diagnosis and who were treated at OUS (ASCT or not) or in 1 of 5 regional hospitals (ASCT only, with ASCT received at OUS and other treatments received locally), during the study period, were included. Study entry was defined as date of MM diagnosis and follow-up started from study entry. End of follow-up occurred at the first of: end of study period, loss to follow-up, or death. Variables used were part of routine practice. Descriptive analysis was done at diagnosis for the overall population, for patients who received ASCT (n=100), and for those who did not receive ASCT at any time during the study period (n=69). At treatment line 1, Cox models were used to identify potential predictors for OS. Results In the study, 55.6% of patients were diagnosed with MM at OUS and 25 of those patients (14.8% of total population) received ASCT. Patients who did not receive ASCT were older and included a larger percentage of women than in the transplant cohort (mean age non-ASCT 73.1±11.2 with 55.1% women and for ASCT 55.5±6.7 years with 45.0% women). More MM patients were diagnosed with Bence Jones (BJ) (21.9% of patients) or IgG type myeloma (54.4% of patients) than IgA type (20.1% of patients) (Table 1). Of transplant patients, more were of International Staging System (ISS) stage I or stage II than stage III MM, though 35.0% of patients were of unknown stage. Most non-transplant patients had unknown ISS stage, followed by stages II and III and the least number of patients were of stage I. Of the CRAB symptoms at diagnosis, most ASCT patients showed no hypercalcemia (80.0%), no renal impairment (90.0%), or no anemia (68.0%), and 34.0% presented with skeletal destruction (Table 1). Similarly, most non-transplant patients had no hypercalcemia (87.0%) and no renal impairment (79.7%) at diagnosis. Anemia and skeletal destruction were not measured in 24.6% of non-transplant patients. Of those with recorded results, more non-transplant patients had skeletal destruction than not and approximately the same number of non-transplant patients presented with anemia than not. High-risk cytogenic abnormalities, a criterion of the revised (R)-ISS, was unknown for most patients (80.5%). Median OS from start of treatment line 1 was 75.93 (90% confidence interval (CI): 68.23 to not reached) months for transplant patients and 34.20 (90% CI: 25.57-42.16) months for non-transplant patients. Variables including age group, sex, CRAB symptoms at diagnosis, type of first therapy, and type of MM at diagnosis were included in the Cox models per cohort, if they had a missingness of <20%. Hypercalcemia at diagnosis was a significant predictor for OS for the transplant cohort, while anemia at diagnosis gave a decreased risk of death. Hypercalcemia as well belonging to the older age groups (e.g., 61-70 years and 71-80 years) were significant predictors of death for the non-transplant patients (Table 2). Conclusions For MM patients in Norway, overall survival was much greater for patients receiving transplant in the first line. Hypercalcemia at diagnosis predicted death for both transplant and non-transplant cohorts and anemia at diagnosis was identified as a decreased risk of death for transplant patients, but not well-recorded for non-transplant patients. Belonging to an older age group (>71 or 80 years old) also was a significant predictor of death, but only for non-transplant patients. Disclosures Schjesvold: Oncopeptides: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bayer: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Adaptive: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Jenna:Janssen-Cilag: Other: Employee of StatFinn & EPID Research, contracted by Janssen-Cilag. Sõnajalg:Janssen-Cilag: Other: Employee of StatFinn & EPID Research, contracted by Janssen-Cilag. Leval:Janssen-Cilag: Employment. Rana:Janssen-Cilag: Employment. Castren-Kortekangas:Janssen-Cilag: Employment. Borgsten:Janssen-Cilag: Employment.