Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Risk Factors & Genetic Predispositions

About one-fifth of entire pregnant female population develop Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in course of their pregnancies and its incidence has been considerably augmented during the last decade.Development of the multifactorial disease GDM can be attributed to elevated insulin resistance during pregnancy triggered by a genetic predisposition to retardation of pancreatic islet β-cell functionality.Polymorphisms in multiple genes like TCF7L2, GCK, HNF4 KCNJ11, CDKAL1, IRS1 and MTNR1B are associated with increased susceptibility to GDM.Epigenetic alterations like gene silencing of pdx1 by DNA methylation and histone modification coupled with dysregulation of microRNAs like miR-155-5p, miR-21-3p, miR210-3p etc. also increases menace of GDM.GDM is a trans-generational effect that might contribute to the vast increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).An elaborate understanding of connection between specific genetic and epigenetic components associated with it may be helpful in prognosis of this disorder.