A study of maternal serum lipids in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia in a cohort of Nigerian women

Abstract

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder in pregnancy, that has adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Abnormal serum lipid levels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, this can give rise to increased oxidative stress and then subsequently, endothelial dysfunction. Methods: This study was a comparative crosssectional study that involved fifty pregnant women that had pre-eclampsia and another fifty healthy pregnant women. Cases and controls were matched for Age in years, Parity, Gestational age in weeks and Body mass index in Kg/M2. Fasting venous blood samples were obtained and analyzed for serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) using enzymatic colorimetric method aided by Cobass C111 Autoanalyser machine. The Data was analyzed using Epi-info version 3.5.4, CDC, Atlanta, USA and P <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Mean age of the case and control groups were 28.86 + 4.50 Years and 29.9 + 4.95 Years respectively (P = 0.59). Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in terms of total Cholesterol (P = 0.98) and low density lipoprotein (P = 0.92). However, mean triglycerides (1.95 + 0.89 mmol/L versus 1.02 + 0.51 mmoI/L) was significantly higher in women with pre-eclampsia compared to the control (P= 0.0004) and a significant reduction in high density lipoprotein (0.79± 0.30 mmol/L versus 1.74 + 0.45 mmol/L) in the case group (P = 0.0005). Conclusion: In this study, Pre-eclampsia is associated with elevated serum triglycerides and reduced high density lipoprotein. These findings may serve as screening markers for preeclampsia.