Study finds no association between ABO blood groups and gestational diabetes risk

Gestational diabetes is a condition characterized by varying degrees of carbohydrate intolerance that typically arises during pregnancy. Its prevalence has been on the increase in parallel to rising states of diabetes and obesity in the general population.

Some studies show an increased GDM risk for ABO blood groups. Others find a lower risk or do not identify any association. Inconsistencies may be due to the heterogeneity in the control for confounding variables. Hid Felizardo Cordero-Franco and colleagues from Mexico determined the association between ABO blood groups and gestational diabetes mellitus in Mexican women, controlling for age and gravidity, fasting glucose at the first trimester, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and a first-degree relative with diabetes. 

The case-control study was conducted from 2019 to 2021 in Monterrey, Mexico comprising 185 women with gestational diabetes and 530 controls. ABO blood groups and other variables were obtained from the clinical records. The association was estimated using a multivariate binary logistic regression. Two models were run, one for primigravidae and another for non-primigravidae.

Key findings include:

• The ABO blood groups were O (69.4%), A (22.2%), B (6.7%), and AB (1.7%), with no differences between cases and controls.
• · Among women in their first pregnancy (n = 242), no significant association was found between ABO blood groups and GDM. Only age ≥ 30 and first fasting glucose levels in the first trimester were associated with an increased risk of GDM.
• In women with two or more pregnancies (n = 473), no significant association was observed between ABO blood groups and GDM. Age ≥ 30, first-trimester glucose levels, and previous GDM were the predominant risk factors in this group.

"Our findings indicate that ABO blood groups were not tied to an increased GDM risk in Mexican women, independent of the other well-known risk factors and number of pregnancies," the researchers wrote.

They note that studies such as this, with rigorous statistical analysis, contribute to the body of knowledge concerning blood groups' role in GDM development.

"Further investigations are warranted to get a better understanding of the inconsistencies observed in the literature and to provide more definitive recommendations concerning the relationship between blood groups and the risk of developing GDM," they concluded.

Reference:

Cordero-Franco, H. F., Salinas-Martínez, A. M., Esparza-Contró, M. J., & González-Rueda, S. D. (2023). ABO blood groups are not associated to gestational diabetes mellitus in Mexican women. PLOS ONE, 18(10), e0292493. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292493