Gestational diabetes & diabetes in pregnancy
Association Between Maternal Diabetes and the Risk of Cancers in Mother‐Offspring: A Meta‐Analysis of 44.9 Million Pregnancies
Authors' conclusion
Maternal diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cancers in mothers and offspring.
Study context
- Population
- Mothers and their offspring; PubMed, Embase and Web of Science searched up to September 30, 2025
- Participants
- 44,917,447 mothers81 studies
- Comparison
- Maternal diabetes vs no maternal diabetes
- Outcome
- Risk of cancers in the mother or offspring (risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CI)
Methodological detailsrandom-effects or common-effects models
- Random-effects or common-effects models
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Any cancers in mothers and offspring
- Maternal diabetes was associated with increased risks of any cancers in mothers and offspring
Further pooled results
| Outcome | Pre-gestational diabetes | Gestational diabetes | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most cancers in offspring, by maternal diabetes typePre-gestational DM more strongly associated | 1.60 (CI 1.14–2.14) | 1.10 (CI 1.02–1.18) | subgroup difference p = 0.0046 |
Offspring haematological malignancies (studies adjusted for multiple confounders)
- RR
- 1.37
- 95% CI
- 1.23-1.52
- I 2
- 1.0%
- Significantly increased
Offspring leukaemia (studies adjusted for multiple confounders)
- RR
- 1.34
- 95% CI
- 1.22-1.47
- I 2
- 0.0%
Maternal solid tumours (studies adjusted for multiple confounders)
- RR
- 1.17
- 95% CI
- 1.09-1.24
- I 2
- 70.1%
- Increases significantly
Maternal head and neck cancer
- RR
- 1.34
- 95% CI
- 1.23-1.47
- I 2
- 35.1%
Maternal respiratory system cancer
- RR
- 1.33
- 95% CI
- 1.05-1.67
- I 2
- 0.0%
Maternal gastrointestinal cancer
- RR
- 1.30
- 95% CI
- 1.16-1.45
- I 2
- 45.5%
Maternal gynecologic cancer
- RR
- 1.16
- 95% CI
- 1.04-1.29
- I 2
- 64.1%
Original publication
Association Between Maternal Diabetes and the Risk of Cancers in Mother‐Offspring: A Meta‐Analysis of 44.9 Million Pregnancies. Diabetes Obes Metab. Published 29 April 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →