Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can occur during pregnancy. One of the leading causes of it is a hormone produced by the placenta that interferes with glucose absorption and causes glucose buildup in the bloodstream. Genetic variations between ethnicities are believed to be associated with GDM, and there has been some research on the association of ABO blood group with GDM in different populations. However, the results so far are inconsistent, and there is no conclusive evidence on how ABO blood group affects the occurrence of GDM. This study aims to examine the link between ABO blood group and GDM in pregnant women at King Abdulaziz University Hospital.
Methodology
A retrospective cohort study was conducted on a group of GDM patients between 2019 and 2022 using data collected from the patients’ medical records at King Abdulaziz University Hospital.
Results
The overall prevalence of GDM was high at 74.7%, and the percentage of patients with A, O, B, and AB blood group who had GDM was 42.9%, 41.41%, 12.1%, and 3.59%, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in Rh status or any other clinical characteristic between the participants who had GDM and those who did not have GDM.
Conclusion
The present findings indicate that blood group is not associated with the development of GDM in this cohort from Saudi Arabia. However, more studies are required in the future to corroborate these findings.