GSDM's Dr. Janket Shares Key Diabetes and Pregnancy Findings in Austria
Research Associate Professor Dr. Sok-Ja Janket is back from the 6th International Symposium on Diabetes and Pregnancy in Salzburg, Austria. She was one of just two dentists in attendance (most attendees were OB-GYNs) and her poster was honored as one of the most innovative by the section chair and other dignitaries.
Her project, “Salivary Immunoglobulin A, C-reactive protein in Overweight Gravidae,” looks at the association between the salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and body mass index (BMI), which is a significant risk factor for diabetes in pregnancy. Her results highlight the importance of sIgA in diabetes and pregnancy because the relationship of sIgA and BMI was independent of C-reactive protein, a most touted molecule associated with obesity. However, Dr. Janket adds that the study design makes it hard to say whether sIgA is contributing to being overweight or the result of it.
Using data from 328 women who were part of the Finnish Oral Health and Adverse Birth Outcomes (FOHABO) study, researchers found that sIgA is not only associated with BMI but also with immune tolerance dysregulation. Dr. Janket points out that pregnancy is an immune-compromised state, in which nature provides very careful balance between “not rejecting the fetus” and “fending off serious infections”.
“As an oral health cardiovascular relationship researcher,” Dr. Janket continued, “I find oral health and birth outcomes research is very complex and fascinating. In cardiovascular disease (CVD), most risks (except heredity and age) are self-inflicted, i.e. smoking, being overweight/obese, and eating an unhealthy diet. So the relationship of risk factors and CVD manifestation is straightforward.”
She also said, “In birth outcomes, the same risk factors and similar disease relationship gets convoluted because of the maternal immune response and the hidden contributors in the outcome. These are the father and the fetus. I have learned a lot from this conference and hope to use this knowledge in my future research.”
Dr. Janket is supported by the American Heart Association and worked with Drs. Jukka H. Meurman and Aura Heimonen of the University of Helsinki, GSDM alum Prashanti Bollu DMD 08 of the University of Southern Nevada, and Dr. Risto Kaaja of the University of Turku. Additional funding for the study came from Helsinki University Central Hospital and the Finnish Medical Society.