Assessment of the association between the polymorphism rs1256031 of the estrogen receptor β gene and GDM susceptibility

Estrogen has an important role in regulating glucose homeostasis, and existing evidence indicates that it might be involved in the development of hyperglycemia in pregnancy. It mediates its effect through estrogen receptors including the nuclear receptor ERβ encoded by ESR2. The association between the ESR2 polymorphism rs1256031 and GDM susceptibility has not been investigated yet. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between rs1256031 and GDM risk in Chinese population. A total of 241 GDM patients and 139 healthy pregnant women were recruited for this study. The rs1256031 genotype was examined by time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the association between rs1256031 and GDM susceptibility was assessed by binary logistic regression in three different genetic models. The polymorphism rs1256031 was not associated with GDM susceptibility in additive [OR (95% CI) = 0.871 (0.453,1.675); P = 0.680], dominant [OR (95% CI) = 0.908 (0.495,1.665); P = 0.755] or recessive [OR (95% CI) = 0.912 (0.591,1.408); P = 0.677] models after adjusting for confounding factors. We observed no association between the polymorphism rs1256031 in the ESR2 gene and GDM susceptibility in Chinese pregnant women.