Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Aug 30;14(17):3562.
doi: 10.3390/nu14173562.

COVID-19 and Gestational Diabetes: The Role of Nutrition and Pharmacological Intervention in Preventing Adverse Outcomes

Ruben Ramirez Zegarra  1   2 , Andrea Dall'Asta  1 , Alberto Revelli  3 , Tullio Ghi  1
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 and Gestational Diabetes: The Role of Nutrition and Pharmacological Intervention in Preventing Adverse Outcomes

Ruben Ramirez Zegarra et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Pregnant women with GDM affected by COVID-19 seem to be at higher risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, especially those with overweight or obesity. Good glycemic control seems to be the most effective measure in reducing the risk of GDM and severe COVID-19. For such purposes, the Mediterranean diet, micronutrient supplementation, and physical activity are considered the first line of treatment. Failure to achieve glycemic control leads to the use of insulin, and this clinical scenario has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. In this review, we explore the current evidence pertaining to the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 leading to the main complications caused by COVID-19 in patients with GDM. We also discuss the incidence of complications caused by COVID-19 in pregnant women with GDM according to their treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes; gestational diabetes; insulin; metformin; nutrition; physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nutritional interventions that have been shown to be effective in the reduction of gestational diabetes (GDM).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Impact of Obesity and Diabetes in Pregnant Women on Their Immunity and Vaccination.
    Wierzchowska-Opoka M, Grunwald A, Rekowska AK, Łomża A, Mekler J, Santiago M, Kabała Z, Kimber-Trojnar Ż, Leszczyńska-Gorzelak B. Wierzchowska-Opoka M, et al. Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Jul 17;11(7):1247. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11071247. Vaccines (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37515062 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Clinical characteristic and outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19: The PROUDEST prospective cohort study.
    Sasaki LP, Fernandes GM, Silva ÂPD, Pereira YR, Carvalho AO, Motta F, Junior DAA, Canellas de Castro ME, Jardim-Santos GP, Schulte HL, Siracusa CC, Rabelo IP, Monteiro PS, Zucchi FCR, Santos Junior ACMD, Costa-Rocha IA, Coelho-Dos-Reis JGA, Kurizky PS, Tristão R, Silva DLMD, Nóbrega OT, Soares AASM, Albuquerque CP, Gomes CM, Espindola LS, Martins-Filho OA, Zaconeta AM, Mota LMHD. Sasaki LP, et al. PLoS One. 2025 Jul 3;20(7):e0327174. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327174. eCollection 2025. PLoS One. 2025. PMID: 40608806 Free PMC article.

References

    1. Zhu N., Zhang D., Wang W., Li X., Yang B., Song J., Zhao X., Huang B., Shi W., Lu R., et al. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382:727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shultz J.M., Perlin A., Saltzman R.G., Espinel Z., Galea S. Pandemic March: 2019 Coronavirus Disease’s First Wave Circumnavigates the Globe. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2020;14:e28–e32. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2020.103. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu Z., McGoogan J.M. Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China. JAMA. 2020;323:1239. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.2648. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berlin D.A., Gulick R.M., Martinez F.J. Severe COVID-19. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;383:2451–2460. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcp2009575. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allotey J., Stallings E., Bonet M., Yap M., Chatterjee S., Kew T., Debenham L., Llavall A.C., Dixit A., Zhou D., et al. Clinical manifestations, risk factors, and maternal and perinatal outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy: Living systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020;370:m3320. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3320. - DOI - PMC - PubMed