Association of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) with subclinical atherosclerosis: a systemic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an elevated risk of adverse health outcomes such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is increasingly used as a noninvasive marker for subclinical atherosclerosis. Whether there is a direct correlation between GDM and elevated cIMT is still controversial. METHODS PubMed, Embase and reference lists of relevant papers were reviewed. Studies assessing the relationship between GDM and cIMT were included. Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) of cIMT was calculated using random-effect models. RESULTS Fifteen studies with a total of 2247 subjects were included in our analysis, giving a pooled WMD of 0.05 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03 -0.07). Furthermore, meta regression and subgroup analysis found that the association between GDM and larger cIMT already existed during pregnancy, and this relation was stronger in obese GDM patients. CONCLUSIONS GDM in and after pregnancy is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. Weight control may be helpful to prevent cardiovascular diseases for GDM patients.