Gestational diabetes mellitus and its association with newborn thyroid screening: a population-based study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects maternal-fetal metabolism, but its impact on neonatal thyroid function remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between maternal GDM and total thyroxine (TT4) levels in newborn screening (NBS) and to identify contributing maternal and neonatal factors.

This observational cohort study linked national NBS thyroid data with hospital medical records. The cohort included 101,450 mother-infant dyads, comprising 4,643 GDM and 96,807 non-GDM singleton pregnancies with term liveborn offspring. Maternal GDM status was the primary exposure variable, and neonatal TT4 levels were assessed as the main outcome measure.

The GDM prevalence was 4.6%. The median NBS TT4 levels (mg/dL) were 14.9 (12.7-17.3) in the GDM newborns compared to 14.6 (12.4-17.2) in the non-GDM newborns, with similar proportions of newborns requiring reflex-TSH testing. GDM mothers were older than non-GDM mothers (34.2 ± 4.8 vs 32.5 ± 4.8 years), had higher prepregnancy body mass indices (25.6 ± 5.5 vs 22.5 ± 4.0 kg/m2), and increased odds of hypertension (OR 3.39) and proteinuria (OR 2.40). GDM pregnancies had higher odds of Cesarean delivery (OR 2.21), large-for-gestational-age infants (OR 1.51), and neonatal intensive care admissions (OR 1.52). Multivariable analysis identified parity, neuraxial anesthesia, oxytocin use, Cesarean delivery, maternal fever, newborn sex, gestational age, and birth weight percentiles as factors associated with TT4 levels (P < 0.001 for all).

GDM was not associated with clinically significant differences in NBS TT4 levels. While GDM pregnancies showed increased risks of adverse maternal-neonatal outcomes, the modest thyroid differences observed in this large cohort of term singleton pregnancies suggest that thyroid alterations in the newborns may not be a matter of concern in GDM pregnancies.

This study examines the relationship between GDM and newborn thyroid function using a large, population-based dataset. By focusing exclusively on term singleton pregnancies, we eliminated confounding factors such as prematurity and multiple gestations. While previous research raised concerns about potential thyroid dysfunction in neonates of mothers with GDM, our findings show only minimal differences in thyroxine levels, providing reassurance that GDM has little impact on neonatal thyroid function. GDM remains strongly linked to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, including higher rates of Cesarean deliveries and neonatal intensive care admissions. These findings provide reassurance about neonatal thyroid function in GDM pregnancies while emphasizing the importance of monitoring other perinatal risks.