Triglyceride–glucose index predicts the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to investigate the potential predictive efficacy of triglyceride–glucose (T/Gly) index for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cohort studies demonstrating the association between T/Gly index measured at the first trimester or before pregnancy and the subsequent incidence of GDM were identified by search of PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases. A random-effect model incorporating the heterogeneity was applied to pool the results. Five cohort studies including 382,213 women were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to those with the lowest category of T/Gly index, women with the highest category of T/Gly index were independently associated with higher risk of subsequent GDM (odds ratio [OR]: 2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33 ∼ 4.67, <i>I</i>²=65%, <i>p</i>=.004) after adjustment of potential confounding factors including age, body mass index, and family history of diabetes. The association was stronger in prospective cohort studies than retrospective cohort studies (<i>p</i> for subgroup difference=.007), and a significant association was detected in Asian women (OR: 3.30, 95% CI: 1.50–7.28, <i>p</i> =.003), but not in non-Asian women (OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.35–2.63, <i>p</i>=.94). Higher T/Gly index may independently predict the risk of GDM in Asian women.