Associations between nutrients in one-carbon metabolism and fetal DNA methylation in pregnancies with or without gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), characterized by hyperglycemia that develops during pregnancy, increases the risk of fetal macrosomia, childhood obesity and cardiometabolic disorders later in life. This process has been attributed partly to DNA methylation modifications in growth and stress-related pathways. Nutrients involved with one-carbon metabolism (OCM), such as folate, choline, betaine, and vitamin B, provide methyl groups for DNA methylation of these pathways.