Miscarriage, stillbirth and the risk of diabetes in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims: Whether women with a history of miscarriage or stillbirth have an increased risk of diabetes is incon-clusive. We aimed to systematically assess the association between them.Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus through November 2022. Random-effect model for meta-analysis was applied to calculate pooled odds ratios and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) when heterogeneity was > 40 %.Results: Thirteen cohort studies and eight case-control studies with a total of 529,990 participants were included. Women ever experiencing a miscarriage had a 1.15-fold risk of non-gestational diabetes (95% CI: 1.02-1.28) and a 1.62-fold risk of gestational diabetes (95% CI: 1.32-1.98) compared to those never experiencing a miscarriage. Of them, women with three or more miscarriages had a 1.99-fold risk of non-gestational diabetes (95% CI: 1.36-2.91). The risk of non-gestational diabetes among women ever experiencing a stillbirth was 1.21 times compared with those never experiencing a stillbirth (95% CI: 1.03-1.41). Pooled results did not support a stable association between stillbirth and gestational diabetes risk (odds ratio:1.91, 95% CI: 1.00-3.64).Conclusions: A history of miscarriage or stillbirth was associated with an increased risk of diabetes in women. Future studies are needed to explore whether prediabetic metabolic conditions contribute to this association.

Automated summary

This study systematically assessed the association between a history of miscarriage or stillbirth and the risk of diabetes in women. It found that women who have ever experienced a miscarriage have an increased risk of non-gestational diabetes and gestational diabetes, and women with three or more miscarriages have a higher risk of non-gestational diabetes. Women with a history of stillbirth also have an increased risk of non-gestational diabetes. However, the study did not find a stable association between stillbirth and gestational diabetes risk.