Dose–response association between maternal pre-pregnancy bodyweight and gestational diabetes mellitus following ART treatment: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: The impact of maternal pre-pregnancy bodyweight on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) following assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment has been insufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy bodyweight and GDM following ART. METHODS: From January 2014 to March 2019, this population-based retrospective cohort study included pregnancies achieved by ART treatment in a pregnancy registration database in China. Multivariate regression analysis and restricted cubic splines were used to explore the association between bodyweight and GDM. RESULTS: A total of 6,598 pregnancies were included. The incidence of GDM was 26.0% (1715/6598). A total of 868 (13.2%) pregnant women were underweight, 665 (10.8%) were overweight, and 145 (2.20%) were obesity. We found a linear dose–response relation between maternal body mass index and GDM by restricted cubic splines, where one unit body mass index increase was associated with the 15% elevated risk of GDM (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% CI 1.08–1.22). Compared to the normal weight group, maternal underweight was associated with lower risk of GDM (adjusted OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.57–0.82), while increased risk was found for overweight (adjusted OR 1.54 95% CI 1.29–1.84) and obesity (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.23–2.47). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found a linear dose–effect relationship between pre-pregnancy bodyweight and GDM following ART treatment. The findings in this study support the clinical recommendation of advising women with overweight or obesity to lose weight prior to ART treatment. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12958-022-00964-9.