Volume 29, Issue 163, September 2025

The Association Between Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM): A Systematic Review of Recent Evidence

Marta Tortyna^1♦, Julia Sztubińska¹, Marta Urszula Marciniak¹, Danuta Borowska¹, Julia Urbańska¹, Paula Szarek², Olga Samsel¹, Natalia Sioch¹, Julia Krotofil¹, Maciej Trzciński¹, Kamil Nieczaj¹

¹Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
²Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum of the University of Zielona Góra, ul. Zyty 28, 65-046 Zielona Góra, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Marta Tortyna, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland

ABSTRACT

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a prevalent metabolic problem developed during pregnancy and has serious health consequences for women and children, short- and long-term. Recently, it has been proposed that vitamin D may play a role in glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, and thus the onset of GDM. This meta-analysis summarized the results of updated cohort studies on maternal vitamin D deficiency and GDM recently. The included review covered seven studies involving heterogeneous populations and regions. Findings consistently suggest that lower maternal serum 25(OH)D during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of GDM, and certain studies suggest the presence of interactions with body mass index and ethnicity. Causal conclusions cannot be drawn from observational data, but the findings suggest that screening and treatment for vitamin D deficiency early in pregnancy may represent a useful preventive approach. Further randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm these associations and help in clinical decision-making.

Keywords: vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, deficiency, gestational diabetes, pregnancy

Medical Science, 2025, 29, e186ms3640

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v29i163.e186ms3640

Published: 27 September 2025