Gestational diabetes & diabetes in pregnancy
Gardnerella enrichment in the vaginal microbiome of women with gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with lower fetal birthweight percentiles
Authors' conclusion
Late-pregnancy GDM was associated with modest shifts in vaginal microbial structure, characterised by reduced Lactobacillus dominance and relative enrichment of Gardnerella.
Study context
- Population
- Pregnant women at a single tertiary centre; vaginal swabs in the third trimester analysed by full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing
- Participants
- 60 vs 119
- Comparison
- Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) vs healthy pregnant controls
- GDMn = 60
- Controln = 119reference
- Outcome
- Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal communities
- Follow-up
- Third trimester
Methodological detailsobservational, single-centre
- Observational
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
P = 0.029
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Lactobacillus relative abundance · third trimester
nominal p=0.020
Gardnerella relative abundance · third trimester
nominal p=0.011
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Non-Lactobacillus-dominated communities by FBW%ileFBW%ile <50% vs FBW%ile ≥50% | P = 0.001 |
| Gardnerella abundance by FBW%ileFBW%ile <50% vs FBW%ile ≥50% | nominal p=0.020 |
- Non-Lactobacillus-dominated communities by FBW%ile: FBW%ile <50% 44.4%
- Non-Lactobacillus-dominated communities by FBW%ile: FBW%ile ≥50% 12.1%
- Gardnerella abundance by FBW%ile: FBW%ile <50% 15.0%
- Gardnerella abundance by FBW%ile: FBW%ile ≥50% 3.2%
Correlation of Gardnerella abundance with fasting glucose (GDM group)
- Positive correlation, r
- 0.3617
- P
- nominal p=0.007
Correlation of Gardnerella abundance with FBW%ile (GDM group)
- Inverse correlation, r
- −0.2774
- P
- nominal p=0.032
Sensitivity analyses excluding extreme Gardnerella abundance
- Associations with Gardnerella were attenuated
Original publication
Gardnerella enrichment in the vaginal microbiome of women with gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with lower fetal birthweight percentiles. Diabetologia. Published 11 June 2026. doi:10.
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