Evaluating whether patients with polycystic ovary syndrome are at increased risk for gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

 

Demonstrating a link between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and gestational diabetes remains problematic because of differences between the various studies conducted, say researchers.

“In pregnant women with PCOS, the increasing tissue resistance to insulin adds to the pre-existing insulin resistance, which may accompany the syndrome,” explain KonstantinosToulis (Papageorgiou General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) and co-researchers.

“This pathogenic mechanism could lead to hyperglycemia, reflected in a higher incidence of gestational diabetes,” the investigators note. “However, studies on the prevalence of gestational diabetes in women with PCOS gave conflicting results, probably because of the heterogeneity of studies conducted so far.”

To clarify links between PCOS and gestational diabetes,Touliset al undertook a random-effects meta-analysis and systematic review of studies, which, importantly, controlled for sources of heterogeneity between trials.

They combined data from 15 studies for a total of 721 women with PCOS and 4572 control individuals without the condition.

Overall, women with PCOS were almost three times as likely (odds ratio [OR] = 2.89) to develop gestational diabetes as women without PCOS.

Despite the significance of this finding, further investigation showed that it was dependent on the type of study and the patients’ baseline risk.

The authors conclude that further investigation is necessary before preventive diabetes treatment is routinely given to women with PCOS.

ORGYN.com