The relationships between HLA class II alleles and antigens with gestational diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. It is associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications. Susceptibility to GDM is partly determined by genetics and linked with type 1 diabetes-associated high risk HLA class II genes. However, the evidence for this relationship is still highly controversial. In this study, we assessed the relationship between HLA class II variants and GDM. We performed meta-analysis on all of literatures available in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of each variant were estimated. All statistical analyses were conducted using the Comprehensive Meta Analysis 2.2.064 software. At the allelic analysis, DQB1*02, DQB1*0203, DQB1*0402, DQB1*0602, DRB1*03, DRB1*0301 and DRB1*1302 reached a nominal level of significance, and only DQB1*02, DQB1*0602 and DRB1*1302 were statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. At the serological analysis, none of DQ2, DQ6, DR13 and DR17 was statistically significant following Bonferroni correction although they reached a nominal level of significance. In sum, our meta-analysis demonstrated that there were the associations between HLA class II variants and GDM but more studies are required to elucidate how these variants contribute to GDM susceptibility.