Association between Early Pregnancy Maternal Folate and Glycemic Indices at Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Folate plays a crucial role in fetal development, but its relationship with maternal glucose metabolism remains inconclusive. Recent meta-analyses have suggested a correlation between high folate and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnancy; however, its association with different glycemic parameters has not yet been explored. Objectives: This study aims to comprehensively synthesize evidence and test the association between early pregnancy circulating folate (70%). Conclusions: Our analysis suggests a possible association between higher early pregnancy folate levels and higher glucose levels at the time of OGTT. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the methodological limitations and the limited number of studies included in this review.This trial was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42021255022.