Flat glucose response curve during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Authors

Maria Cristina Sangiovanni, Fabrizio Signore, Roberto Angioli, Gianluca Straface, Flaminia Vena

Published in

International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. Jul 03, 2026. Epub Jul 03, 2026.

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most frequent metabolic disorders in pregnancy, affecting around 14% of pregnancies globally, and associated with increased risk of maternal and perinatal complications.
This study evaluates the association between a flat glucose response curve (FC) during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.
This systematic review and meta-analysis adhered to the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from database inception to May 2, 2026.
Eligible studies compared pregnant women with FC with those showing a standard OGTT curve.
The primary outcome was small for gestational age (SGA). Secondary outcomes were macrosomia, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), primary caesarean delivery (PCD), vaginal delivery, Apgar score <7-8 at 5 min, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, and neonatal sex. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using fixed-effects models. Study quality was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies.
Five cohort studies involving 5150 women with FC and 41 898 controls were included. FC was associated with higher risk of SGA (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.06-1.38; P = 0.005) and lower odds of macrosomia (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.66-0.83; P < 0.00001), HDP (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.55-0.80; P < 0.0001), and PCD (OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.77-0.93; P = 0.0005). FC was linked to increased vaginal delivery (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.06-1.27; P = 0.001). No associations were found for Apgar <7-8 or NICU admission. Male sex was more frequent in the FC group (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.04-1.24; P = 0.003).
An FC may represent a distinct metabolic-obstetric phenotype associated with an increased risk of SGA, highlighting the potential prognostic value of OGTT curve morphology beyond conventional gestational diabetes thresholds.

PMID:
42400187
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 Jul 2026.

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