Enlightening the Correlation of Polymorphisms at FTO, LEP and LEPR Genes with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Risk: a Meta-analysis

The adverse outcomes correlated with GDM for both the mother and the offspring are diverse. The link between polymorphisms at fat mass and obesity‐correlated protein (FTO), leptin (LEP), and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes and GDM is ambiguous. In this meta-analysis, we sought to investigate the correlation of FTO, LEP, and LEPR polymorphisms with GDM risk. We performed an online search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases to identify all relevant research. A total of 18 case-control studies including seven research with 893 cases and 2875 controls on FTO rs9939609, four research with 1345 cases and 1116 controls on FTO rs8050136, two research with 207 cases and 205 controls on FTO rs1421085, three studies with 529 cases and 581 controls on LEP rs7799039, and two research with 480 cases and 477 controls on LPER rs1137101 met our criteria. Combined data illustrated that the FTO rs9939609 and rs8050136 were correlated with substantial risk of GDM in the overall population, but not FTO rs1421085. Furthermore, LEP rs2167270 and rs7799039 polymorphisms were not correlated with GDM risk. Sorted analyses illustrated that the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism was correlated with GDM in Caucasian women. This meta-analysis results illustrated that the FTO rs9939609 and rs8050136 were correlated with substantial risk of GDM, but not FTO rs1421085, LEP rs7799039, and LPER rs1137101. Larger and more rigorous studies among different ethnicities are needed to further evaluate the correlations with GDM.