The Association between Maternal B Vitamins in Early Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: This study evaluated the association between maternal B vitamins in early pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. Methods: A cohort of 1265 pregnant women was recruited at 8–15 weeks of gestation in 2021–2022 (Shanghai, China). Pregnancies with both serum B vitamin measurements at recruitment and glucose measurements at 24–28 weeks of gestation were included in the final analysis. Results: Of the 1065 pregnancies, in the final analysis, GDM occurred in 121 women (11.36%). In multivariate logistic models, an increased risk trend across serum vitamin B1 quartiles with GDM was observed (p-Trend = 0.001). Compared with women in the lowest quartile of serum vitamin B6, those in the upper two quartiles had approximately twofold higher odds of GDM. Moreover, compared with women with vitamin B12 levels < 150 pmol/L, those with vitamin B12 levels > 150 pmol/L had lower odds of GDM (p = 0.005). The restricted cubic spline regression models also revealed that serum vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were associated with an increased risk of GDM in a nonlinear fashion. Conclusions: Our study shows that higher maternal serum vitamin B1 and B6 levels in early pregnancy are associated with increased GDM risk, while sufficient vitamin B12 status is associated with lower GDM risk.

The association between maternal amino acids and vitamins status during early pregnancy and preterm birth

“…Besides, the establishment of the association of the metabolic status of nutritional indicators with the impact on disease risk may provide valuable insights into the physiopathologic interpretation of the illness as well as the optimal nutritional management [18 -20]. Nevertheless, the reports on the correlation between the status of multiple nutritional metabolites during the early stage of pregnancy with the adverse outcomes were still limited [21][22][23].…”

Maternal microbiota and gestational diabetes: impact on infant health

“…A group of the important bacteriome‐derived metabolites is the B vitamins including pyridoxine (vitaminB6), folic acid (vitaminB9) and cobalamin (vitaminB12) which are de-novo synthesized by the gut microbiota [ 134 , 135 ]. Previous studies in women with GDM indicated a higher level of folate during second or third trimester in which the higher maternal folate status combined with the B12 insufficiency can predict a higher risk of GDM [ 136 – 139 ]. In contrast, some studies revealed that Folic acid supplementation can protect early pregnant women from the risk of GDM, however, the exact dose or duration is yet to be identified [ 140 ].…”