Advanced maternal age is a risk factor for both early and late gestational diabetes mellitus: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

Kazuma Tagami; Noriyuki Iwama; Hirotaka Hamada; Hasumi Tomita; Rie Kudo; Natsumi Kumagai; Hongxin Wang; Seiya Izumi; Zen Watanabe; Mami Ishikuro; Taku Obara; Hirohito Metoki; Yuichiro Miura; Chiharu Ota; Takashi Sugiyama; Shinichi Kuriyama; Takahiro Arima; Nobuo Yaegashi; Masatoshi Saito; Japan Environment and Children's Study Group

doi:10.1111/jdi.14400

Advanced maternal age is a risk factor for both early and late gestational diabetes mellitus: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

J Diabetes Investig. 2025 Jan 11. doi: 10.1111/jdi.14400. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kazuma Tagami¹, Noriyuki Iwama^{1

2}, Hirotaka Hamada¹, Hasumi Tomita¹, Rie Kudo¹, Natsumi Kumagai¹, Hongxin Wang¹, Seiya Izumi¹, Zen Watanabe¹, Mami Ishikuro^{3

4}, Taku Obara^{3

4}, Hirohito Metoki^{5

6}, Yuichiro Miura⁷, Chiharu Ota^{7

8}, Takashi Sugiyama⁹, Shinichi Kuriyama^{3

4

10}, Takahiro Arima⁷, Nobuo Yaegashi⁷, Masatoshi Saito^{1

11}; Japan Environment and Children's Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
² Center for Maternal and Perinatal Medicine, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
³ Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁴ Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁵ Division of Public Health, Hygiene and Epidemiology, Tohoku Medical Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁶ Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁷ Environment and Genome Research Center, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁸ Department of Paediatrics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
⁹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine Toon, Ehime, Japan.
¹⁰ International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Maternal and Fetal Therapeutics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.

PMID: 39797691
DOI: 10.1111/jdi.14400

Abstract

Aims: This study investigated the association between maternal age and early and late gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: In total, 72,270 pregnant women were included in this prospective birth cohort study. Associations between maternal age and early GDM (diagnosed at <24 gestational weeks) and late GDM (diagnosed at ≥24 gestational weeks) were evaluated using a multinomial logistic regression model with possible confounding factors. The reference category was maternal age of 30-34.9 years.

Results: Higher maternal age was associated with higher odds of early and late GDM (P-value for trend <0.0001 and <0.0001, respectively). The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for early GDM with maternal age of 35-39.9 years and ≥40 were 1.399 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.134-1.725) and 2.494 (95% CI: 1.828-3.402), respectively. The aORs for late GDM with maternal age of 35-39 years and ≥40 were 1.603 (95% CI: 1.384-1.857) and 2.276 (95% CI: 1.798-2.881), respectively.

Conclusions: Higher maternal age was associated with an increased risk of GDM regardless of when GDM was diagnosed. The association between maternal age and early GDM was similar to that between maternal age and late GDM.

Keywords: Advanced maternal age; Gestational diabetes; Insulin resistance.