TITLE:
Changes in Maternal Serum Leptin Levels during Pregnancy and after Labor in Preeclampsia, and Its Correlation to Neonatal Cord Leptin
AUTHORS:
Mohamed Abdelaziz Youssry, Mohamed Amin Gabreel, Tabarak Ahmed Patel
KEYWORDS:
Preeclampsia, Body Mass Index, Leptin
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.6 No.10,
August
30,
2016
ABSTRACT: Objective: The aim of this study is to determine
changes in maternal serum leptin level during pregnancy and after labor in
preeclamptic patients compared to healthy pregnant women. Furthermore, to
investigate whether maternal serum leptin levels are correlated to the clinical
characteristics and laboratory parameters of the study participants, and the
possible correlation between maternal and neonatal leptin levels. Subjects and
Methods: In this case control study, a total number of fifty five pregnant
women in third trimester of pregnancy (≥28 weeks) were recruited. All of them
were of the same age, body mass index, and gestational age. After a detailed
obstetrical and medical history, they were divided into 2 groups. Group (A) 30
pregnant women with preeclampsia, and Group (B) 25 normotensive pregnant women.
Results: During pregnancy, maternal serum leptin levels were significantly
higher 41.0 ± 9.78 ng/ml in preeclamptic group compared to control
group 24.6 ± 3.64 ng/ml (p = 0.007). After labor, it decreased significantly in both groups to 15.3 ± 3.19, and 11.2 ± 2.68
ng/ml respectively (p = 0.001, 0.002). In group (A) there were significant
positive correlations between maternal serum leptin and diastolic blood pressure
(r = 0.419, p = 0.021), total cholesterol (r = 0.383, p = 0.026), and uric acid (r = 0.424, p = 0.012) compared to
controls, and no significant correlations were found between maternal serum
leptin and body mass index, neonatal birth weight or cord leptin level in both
groups. Conclusion: Maternal serum leptin is significantly increased in
preeclamptic patients compared with normal pregnant women independent of body
mass index. There is strong evidence that placenta, rather than maternal adipose
tissue is responsible for that. In addition, maternal serum leptin levels were
found to correlate positively with diastolic blood pressure, uric acid, and
total cholesterol, but not correlated with body mass index, cord blood leptin
and birth weight.