ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2020
Fetal sex and maternal insulin resistance during mid-pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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 · 2026Review
- The power of machine learning models in predicting gestational diabetes mellitus.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Untreated women with first trimester fasting glycaemia 92-125 mg/dL and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in the 24-28th week OGTT: prevalence and predictors.Acta diabetologica · 2025Article
- Gestational diabetes mellitus - more than the eye can see - a warning sign for future maternal health with transgenerational impact.Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare · 2025Review
- Association between fetal sex and metabolic syndrome in women aged 40 years and older: the REACTION study.PeerJ · 2025Article
- Fetal sex effects on maternal health can now be tested via randomization: A first-in-class illustration in cows on glucoregulatory outcomes.Theriogenology · 2024Article
- The influence of fetal sex on antenatal maternal glucose and insulin dynamics.Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare · 2024Review
- Fetal sexual dimorphism of maternal thyroid function parameters during pregnancy, a single center retrospective real-world study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Fetal sex and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus in gravidae with multiple gestation pregnancies.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2023Article
- Fetal sex and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus in polycystic ovarian syndrome gravidae.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2023Article
- A global view of hypertensive disorders and diabetes mellitus during pregnancy.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2022Review
- Increased basal insulin sensitivity in late pregnancy in women carrying a male fetus: a cohort study.Biology of sex differences · 2022Article
- Placental Endocrine Activity: Adaptation and Disruption of Maternal Glucose Metabolism in Pregnancy and the Influence of Fetal Sex.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies have suggested that fetal sex influences maternal glucose and insulin metabolism during pregnancy. We examined whether fetal sex is associated with maternal insulin resistance and the β-cell function during mid-pregnancy.
methodsThis retrospective study included singleton pregnant women who underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-34 weeks of gestation due to positive diabetic screening. In addition to plasma glucose (PG), we measured plasma insulin during the OGTT to obtain surrogate indices associated with insulin resistance (IR), including homeostasis assessment model (HOMA) -IR and insulin sensitivity index (IsOGTT), and β-cell function, including insulinogenic index (II), HOMA-β, and area under the curve of insulin response. We compared these indices between women carrying male fetuses to those carrying female fetuses.
resultsThe study population included 617 women (mean age, 32.4 ± 4.9 years) with a mean pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of 22.6±4.5. They underwent the 75g-OGTT at 29.0 ± 2.5 weeks. Two hundred fifty-eight (42%) women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GDM). There was no significant difference in maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational age at OGTT, PG at OGTT, or the prevalence of GDM between women with a male fetus (n=338) (male group) and those with a female fetus (n=279) (female group). Regarding the indices of IR, IR was significantly higher and insulin sensitivity was lower in the female group than in the male group (HOMA-IR: 7.0 [5-9.6] vs. 6.2 [4.6-8.8], p< 0.05; IsOGTT: 5.86 [4.29-7.83] vs. 6.29 [4.59-8.84], p< 0.01) (median [quartile range]). These differences remained significant after adjustment for maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational age and fasting PG at OGTT, and the diagnosis of GDM. In contrast, the β-cell function did not differ between the two groups.
conclusionMaternal IR during mid-pregnancy was significantly higher in women carrying a female fetus than in those with a male fetus. The sex of the fetus may affect maternal insulin sensitivity during mid-pregnancy.
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