Research
Hormonal
Women with PCOS have a significantly higher risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to control women, with PCOS being an independent risk factor.
If you have PCOS and are pregnant or planning to be, you are nearly three times more likely to develop gestational diabetes than women without PCOS. Inform your obstetrician about your PCOS diagnosis early so they can monitor your blood sugar closely during pregnancy.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
In a metaanalysis of 720 women with PCOS and 4505 controls, PCOS women have a 2.94 times [confidence interval (CI) for odds ratio 1.70 –5.08] higher risk of developing GDM than control women (23).
Why this rating
Based on a meta-analysis of multiple studies.
Source
POSITION STATEMENT: Glucose Intolerance in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome—A Position Statement of the Androgen Excess Society
Kelsey E. S. Salley et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2007
DOI 10.1210/jc.2007-1549
clinical_guidelineCited 339×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Women with PCOS should undergo screening for impaired glucose tolerance using a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) rather than fasting plasma glucose alone, as fasting glucose misses a majority of cases in this population.Good
- Intensive lifestyle modification (diet and exercise) is the most effective intervention for preventing type 2 diabetes in women with PCOS who have impaired glucose tolerance, outperforming pharmacological agents like metformin.Good
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