Expression of microRNAs in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are noncoding RNAs that play a central role in governing various physiological and pathological processes. There are few studies on miRNA involvement in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of the miRNA expression profiling from GDM patients. METHODS: Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols, we performed a systematic search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases from inception to December 20, 2021, to retrieve the original research studies. All the relevant data were retrieved, analyzed, and summarized. RESULTS: Six studies (252 GDM cases and 309 controls) were included and analyzed. The six studies reported the expressions of 21 miRNAs in GDM cases. Of the 21 miRNAs, 12 miRNAs were found to be upregulated, and two were downregulated. The top three most consistently reported upregulated miRNAs were miR-16-5p (mean differences of fold change are 1.25, 95% CI = 0.04–2.46, P = 0.040), miR-19a-3p (mean differences of fold change are 2.90, 95% CI = 1.45–4.35, P = 0.001), and miR-19b-3p (mean differences of fold change are 3.10, 95% CI = 0.94–5.25, P = 0.005). miR-155-5p and miR-21-3p were found to be downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that several miRNAs may be used as markers for diabetes gestational diabetes mellitus. In the future, more studies are needed to validate the findings of our study. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00592-022-02005-8.