Serum vitamin E level and gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications in pregnancy. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the association between vitamin E and GDM. Methods Relevant articles from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases up to December 2019 were searched. The inclusion criteria were observational full-text articles. The fixed and random effect models were used to analyze the pooled data using Review Manager 5.3. Results Thirteen studies, including 596 participants, of whom 285 were diagnosed with GDM were included in the meta-analysis. The vitamin E level was significantly lower in women with GDM (MD: - 0.10; 95% CI: [−0.15, − 0.05]). The level of vitamin E was not different between overweight women with GDM and healthy pregnant women (MD: 0.03; 95% CI: [−0.08, 0.013]). The level of vitamin E was significantly lower in the third trimester of pregnancy in GDM women in comparison to the healthy pregnant women(MD: -0.09; 95% CI: [−0.12, −0.06]). Conclusion This study showed that the level of vitamin E is significantly lower in GDM women compared to healthy pregnant women.