Examining the Quality of Life among Pregnant Women Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: This research examines the quality of life (QoL) among pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) through a meta-analysis and systematic review. Methods: A search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and the Web of Knowledge databases for articles published until November 15, 2023. Manual searches of gray literature, Google Scholar, reference checks, and citation checks were conducted. The JBI's Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies was utilized to assess the quality of the articles' reporting. The random model implemented in Stata software (version 16; Stata Corp.) was utilized to conduct the meta-analysis. Results: Among the 488 studies obtained from the literature, only 15 were deemed suitable for inclusion. Most of the studies (73.3%) were conducted in nations with high-income levels. Additionally, general QoL was assessed in most studies (11 studies). The SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires were the most often utilized. Based on the SF-36 measure, there was no statistically significant difference (MD=1.30) in the QoL of patients with GDM compared to the control group. The WHOQOL-BREF instrument was utilized to estimate the QoL score at 49.69. The EQ-5D-5L tool revealed a difference in QoL scores between the GDM and control groups (MD=-7.40). The research findings were highly heterogeneous. The median evaluation score for the reporting quality of the articles was calculated to be 5, with a mean of 4.8 out of 7. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that GDM significantly impacts pregnant women's QoL, particularly concerning their mental and social well-being.

Keywords: gestational diabetes, QoL, pregnant women, systematic review and meta-analysis