Inflammatory cytokines and risk of gestational diabetes

Background: Over the last decade, an emerging role of novel cytokines in the pathogenesis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been proposed by researches. The present study was performed to provide a more accurate estimate of the effect size of the association between leptin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and risk of GDM.

Methods: Online databases were looked up to August 2021 using the search string: (leptin OR TNF-α OR IL-6) AND “gestational diabetes”. Observational studies investigating the association of the selected cytokines and risk of GDM were included. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate pooled effect.

Results: 19 studies were included in the meta-analysis (6792 women; 1405 diagnosed with GDM). A significant association was found between higher circulating leptin and risk of GDM and the pooled estimate was 1.15 (95%CI: 1.05, 1.26). Higher circulating levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were associated with inc...