Genetics based Screening Tool may help predict Gestational Diabetes

New research found that the Polygenic Risk Score, which is an inexpensive, genetics-based predictive screening tool can be used to identify high-risk women who can develop Gestational Diabetes (GDM) even before conceiving. This can help them to practice GDM preventative preconception lifestyle changes. The study was published in the 'Journal of Personalized Medicine.'  

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common complication during pregnancy that adversely affects maternal and offspring health. Risk factors such as BMI and age have been associated with increased risks of GDM. But sometimes healthy nulliparous women with no obvious risk factors are also developing GDM. Hence researchers conducted a study to unravel the genetic basis of GDM and investigate relationships between the genetic architecture and genetically constructed risk factors and biomarkers using genetics-based risk scores like the polygenic risk scores (PGS). 

For this study, a prospective cohort of 502,637 people aged between 37 and 73 was recruited from the UK Biobank (UKBB). Using detailed questionnaires and clinical assessment all the participants' medical, socio-demographic, lifestyle, environmental, and genetic information was collected. For building the PGS, data from Neale lab GWAS of UKBB phenotype was collected. SNPs were annotated with genes and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using SNPnexus. PGS was derived from a list of relevant SNPs by a machine-learning model. TwoSampleMR package in R was used to run Mendelian Randomization analyses.