Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26253767›Full record

SynthesisDiabetologia2015

Sex of the baby and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in the mother: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Diana Jaskolka, Ravi Retnakaran, Bernard Zinman, Caroline K Kramer

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Diabetologia, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.5field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 99 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. The Double-Edged Sword of Gestational Insulin Resistance: Navigating Maternal Adaptation and Its Risks for Pregnancy and Offspring Health.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Review
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  17. The Third Annual Symposium of the Midwest Aging Consortium.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
    Article
  18. The influence of fetal sex on antenatal maternal glucose and insulin dynamics.Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare · 2024
    Review
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  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Diana JaskolkaDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Ravi RetnakaranDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Bernard ZinmanDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Caroline K KramerDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. ckramer@mtsinai.on.ca.
University of Toronto · CALunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aims/hypothesisIt has recently emerged that carrying a male fetus may be associated with poorer maternal beta cell function and an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Recognising that the overall impact of fetal sex on maternal glucose metabolism is likely to be subtle, we sought to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to obtain a robust estimate of the incremental maternal risk of GDM associated with the sex of the baby.

methodsWe searched PubMed and EMBASE to identify observational studies published between 1 January 1950 and 4 April 2015 that reported data on fetal sex and the prevalence of GDM. Two independent reviewers extracted the data and pooled estimates of the RR were calculated by a random-effects model. We considered male fetus as the exposure and prevalence of GDM as the outcome of interest.

resultsWe identified 320 studies through electronic searches and nine studies through manual searches. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, yielding data on 2,402,643 women. Pooled analysis of these studies demonstrated an increased risk of GDM in women carrying a male fetus compared with women carrying a female fetus (RR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02, 1.06). This result was confirmed in a sensitivity analysis including only studies that applied a stringent definition of GDM (RR 1.03; 95% CI 1.01, 1.06) (I(2) = 0%, p = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS/

interpretationPregnant women carrying a boy have a 4% higher relative risk of GDM than those carrying a girl. The fetus thus may have previously unsuspected effects on maternal glucose metabolism in pregnancy.

Indexed as

Diabetes, GestationalFemaleHumansMaleMaternal-Fetal ExchangePregnancyRisk FactorsSex FactorsBeta cell functionFetal sexGestational diabetesMale fetusMeta-analysisSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID26253767
OpenAlexW1915420404

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.