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
increased risk of GDM and the pooled estimates were 2.00 (95%CI: 1.20,
3.31) and 1.29 (95%CI: 1.13, 1.46), respectively. Conclusions: The
selected cytokines might be used as potential markers in predicting GDM
and considered as contributing factors to the GDM pathogenesis.