Relation between cadmium exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus.

•Enrich biomonitoring data on cadmium exposure in Chinese pregnant women.•The first study to investigate urinary cadmium concentrations and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).•Urinary cadmium concentrations in women with GDM were significantly higher than those in women without GDM.•Exposure to cadmium is related to increased risk of GDM.•The risk of GDM was increased if women had higher urinary cadmium levels and pre-BMI higher than 24 kg/m2 simultaneously