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 Dec 26;10(36):13189-13199.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i36.13189.

Probiotics for preventing gestational diabetes in overweight or obese pregnant women: A review

Ya-Fang Deng  1 , Li-Ping Wu  1 , Yan-Ping Liu  2
Affiliations
Review

Probiotics for preventing gestational diabetes in overweight or obese pregnant women: A review

Ya-Fang Deng et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit to the host. Specific probiotics or probiotic foods can be used to reduce the risk of diseases associated with aberrant gut microbiota composition. The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has increased annually with the proportion of overweight and obese people. Overweight or obese pregnant women are at high risk of GDM and have obvious changes in gut microbiota compared with normal-weight pregnant women. Specific probiotics or probiotic foods may alter gut microbiota in overweight or obese pregnant women and inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors, consequently resulting in weight loss and reduced insulin resistance. This review discusses the mechanism of probiotics on GDM, as well as the dose, method and duration of probiotics use, and summarizes current evidence on probiotics in improving glucose metabolism and other maternal and infant outcomes in overweight/obese pregnant women.

Keywords: Diabetes, Gestational; Gut microbiota; Obesity, Maternal; Overweight; Probiotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Hill C, Guarner F, Reid G, Gibson GR, Merenstein DJ, Pot B, Morelli L, Canani RB, Flint HJ, Salminen S, Calder PC, Sanders ME. Expert consensus document. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2014;11:506–514. - PubMed
    1. Sheyholislami H, Connor KL. Are Probiotics and Prebiotics Safe for Use during Pregnancy and Lactation? Nutrients. 2021;13 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pellonperä O, Mokkala K, Houttu N, Vahlberg T, Koivuniemi E, Tertti K, Rönnemaa T, Laitinen K. Efficacy of Fish Oil and/or Probiotic Intervention on the Incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in an At-Risk Group of Overweight and Obese Women: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Trial. Diabetes Care. 2019;42:1009–1017. - PubMed
    1. Okesene-Gafa KA, Moore AE, Jordan V, McCowan L, Crowther CA. Probiotic treatment for women with gestational diabetes to improve maternal and infant health and well-being. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;6:CD012970. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kijmanawat A, Panburana P, Reutrakul S, Tangshewinsirikul C. Effects of probiotic supplements on insulin resistance in gestational diabetes mellitus: A double-blind randomized controlled trial. J Diabetes Investig. 2019;10:163–170. - PMC - PubMed