Is serum zinc status related to gestational diabetes mellitus? A meta-analysis

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#diabetes-gestational #female #humans #pregnancy #pregnancy-trimester-second

Is serum zinc status related to gestational diabetes mellitus? A meta-analysis

Fan et al., 2021 | Matern Child Nutr | Meta Analysis

Citation

Fan Jiehui, Zhang Tingting, ... Zhang Bao. Is serum zinc status related to gestational diabetes mellitus? A meta-analysis. Matern Child Nutr. 2021-Oct;17(4):e13239. doi:10.1111/mcn.13239

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common medical disorder that begins during pregnancy. The present work aimed to investigate the relationship of maternal or foetal circulatory zinc levels with GDM. Related studies were retrieved against the PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus databases till July 2020. The overall effects were expressed as standard mean difference (SMD). Furthermore, the random effects model was used to assess the summarised risk ratios (SRRs) to determine the relationship between zinc and the risk of GDM. A total of 15 articles involving were retrieved for meta-analysis; in the meantime, 4955 subjects including 1549 GDM cases were enrolled for quantitative analysis. Compared with normal control, GDM cases had decreased circulating zinc level on the whole, but the difference was not statistically significant (SMD = -0.40, 95%CI: -0.80 to -0.00, P = 0.05). Interestingly, upon subgroup analysis stratified by serum zinc content but not plasma zinc concentration, there was significant difference in zinc content between GDM cases and normal controls (SMD = -0.56; 95%CI: -1.07 to -0.04, P = 0.03). Meanwhile, subgroup analysis also revealed similar tendency among the Asians and during the 2nd trimester, but not among the Caucasians or during the 1st or 3rd trimester. Data extracted from four studies that compared pregnant women with GDM in the high level of zinc and GDM in the low level of zinc yielded an SRR of 0.929 (95%CI: 0.905-0.954). According to existing evidence, the serum zinc content decreases among GDM cases compared with subjects with no abnormality in glucose tolerance, in particular among the Asians and during the second trimester. Nonetheless, more well designed prospective study should be carried out for understanding the dynamic relationship of zinc level with the incidence of GDM.

Key Findings

Nonetheless, more well designed prospective study should be carried out for understanding the dynamic relationship of zinc level with the incidence of GDM.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population no abnormality in glucose
Sample Size 4955
Age Range See abstract
Condition diabetes

MeSH Terms

  • Diabetes, Gestational
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Trimester, Second
  • Pregnancy Trimester, Third
  • Prospective Studies
  • Zinc

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Review
  • Vertical: zinc

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09