Maternal diabetes , including both gestational diabetes and pregestational diabetes, is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes such as preeclampsia and preterm birth. Notably, fetal epicardial fat thickness (fEFT) is increasingly recognized as an early indicator of cardiometabolic risk in fetuses of mothers with diabetes. To explore this association, a study analyzed data from ten studies involving 1,303 cases of maternal diabetes to assess its impact on fEFT. Ultrasound analysis revealed that maternal diabetes during pregnancy is significantly associated with increased fEFT, with a mean difference of 0.37 mm compared to non-diabetic pregnancies.
This difference was particularly pronounced when gestational age exceeded 26 weeks. These findings suggest that maternal diabetes may contribute to elevated fEFT, especially in the later stages of pregnancy. The study highlights…
