Type 2 diabetes linked FTO gene variant rs8050136 is significantly associated with gravidity in gestational diabetes in a sample of Bangladeshi women: Meta-analysis and case-control study

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a growing public health concern that has not been extensively studied. Numerous studies have indicated that a variant (rs8050136) of the fat mass-associated gene, FTO, is associated with both GDM and Type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). We conducted a meta-analysis on the association between the FTO single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs8050136 and T2DM, followed by a case-control study on the association of the said SNP and GDM in a sample of Bangladeshi women. Method: A total of 25 studies were selected after exploring various databases and search engines, which were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The MetaGenyo web tool was used to conduct this meta-analysis. A case-control study was performed on 218 GDM patients and 284 controls to observe any association between FTO rs8050136 and GDM. Genotyping was performed using the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS) method, and statistical analyses were performed using various statistical softwares. Results: In the meta-analysis 26231 cases and 43839 controls were examined. Pooled association analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between the FTO rs8050136 polymorphism and an elevated risk of T2DM under all genetic models (P