Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study

Abstract Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a glucose metabolism disorder with an unclear etiology that occurs specifically during pregnancy. While elevated serum ferritin levels have been reported to increase the risk of GDM, these findings lack validation in large-scale studies and have yet to...

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Main Authors: Yupei Xie, Siyu Dai, Qian Chen, Dan Shan, Xiongfei Pan, Yayi Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91456-4
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author Yupei Xie
Siyu Dai
Qian Chen
Dan Shan
Xiongfei Pan
Yayi Hu
author_facet Yupei Xie
Siyu Dai
Qian Chen
Dan Shan
Xiongfei Pan
Yayi Hu
author_sort Yupei Xie
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a glucose metabolism disorder with an unclear etiology that occurs specifically during pregnancy. While elevated serum ferritin levels have been reported to increase the risk of GDM, these findings lack validation in large-scale studies and have yet to inform clinical practice effectively. This study enrolled 12,434 controls and 3599 GDM patients and employed binary multifactorial logistic regression, restricted cubic spline, propensity score matching, and a random forest algorithm to explore the relationship between serum ferritin and GDM, as well as the effect size of ferritin on GDM. The results indicated that GDM patients have higher serum ferritin levels compared to controls in the second and third trimesters. A weak correlation was found between serum ferritin levels and OGTT 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose levels in the second trimester. Logistic regression (LR) and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses showed a significant positive correlation between serum ferritin levels and GDM in the second and third trimesters. Propensity score matching analysis indicated that the association between second-trimester serum ferritin levels and GDM remained nearly constant before and after matching. The random forest algorithm suggested that among all confounders, serum ferritin had a minimal effect on GDM risk. In conclusion, our study provides further compelling evidence for the association between serum ferritin levels and gestational diabetes mellitus. However, additional research is still needed to clarify the specific mechanisms underlying this association.
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spelling doaj-art-fa2ff9a0dbcb4b90a555a3d24bfd8ea42025-08-20T01:57:51ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-91456-4Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort studyYupei Xie0Siyu Dai1Qian Chen2Dan Shan3Xiongfei Pan4Yayi Hu5Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityAbstract Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a glucose metabolism disorder with an unclear etiology that occurs specifically during pregnancy. While elevated serum ferritin levels have been reported to increase the risk of GDM, these findings lack validation in large-scale studies and have yet to inform clinical practice effectively. This study enrolled 12,434 controls and 3599 GDM patients and employed binary multifactorial logistic regression, restricted cubic spline, propensity score matching, and a random forest algorithm to explore the relationship between serum ferritin and GDM, as well as the effect size of ferritin on GDM. The results indicated that GDM patients have higher serum ferritin levels compared to controls in the second and third trimesters. A weak correlation was found between serum ferritin levels and OGTT 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose levels in the second trimester. Logistic regression (LR) and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses showed a significant positive correlation between serum ferritin levels and GDM in the second and third trimesters. Propensity score matching analysis indicated that the association between second-trimester serum ferritin levels and GDM remained nearly constant before and after matching. The random forest algorithm suggested that among all confounders, serum ferritin had a minimal effect on GDM risk. In conclusion, our study provides further compelling evidence for the association between serum ferritin levels and gestational diabetes mellitus. However, additional research is still needed to clarify the specific mechanisms underlying this association.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91456-4FerritinGestational diabetes mellitusLogistic regressionRestricted cubic splineRandom forest algorithm
spellingShingle Yupei Xie
Siyu Dai
Qian Chen
Dan Shan
Xiongfei Pan
Yayi Hu
Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
Scientific Reports
Ferritin
Gestational diabetes mellitus
Logistic regression
Restricted cubic spline
Random forest algorithm
title Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
title_full Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
title_fullStr Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
title_short Serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A cohort study
title_sort serum ferritin levels and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus a cohort study
topic Ferritin
Gestational diabetes mellitus
Logistic regression
Restricted cubic spline
Random forest algorithm
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91456-4
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