Every family wants a health baby.

When children are born, mothers check for 10 fingers and 10 toes. Doctors run some tests, and then our children are sent home – without an instruction booklet. While there will likely never be a healthcare “How to” guide for raising every child, Texas Biomed scientists are working to develop a simple breath test for newborns that could help create an individual “health roadmap” for each individual child.

Scientists at Texas Biomed believe they can develop a method for testing the breath of newborns in the first few hours after birth, to determine their lifelong risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other potential metabolic disorders.

Out of every 10 babies born in the United States today, 4 will develop heart disease before the age of 60, 2 will develop diabetes, 4 will struggle with obesity, and 3 will have “metabolic syndrome” (high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL, poor glucose control).

Early study results show promise. We are learning that metabolites in the breath can be measured and do demonstrate differences in diet, and other factors. This fall we will expand the program to test the breath of children in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio!