Association of Maternal Hyperhomocysteinemia with Preeclampsia: A Hospital Based Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: Preeclampsia is among the leading causes of feto-maternal morbidity and mortality throughout the world, especially in developing countries like Pakistan. The exact pathophysiology of preeclampsia is still unclear but recent research on homocysteine shows its important role.\n\nAims & Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine association of high serum homocysteine level with preeclampsia among antenatal women.\n\nPlace and duration of study: Tertiary Care Hospitals of Lahore (Services, Lahore General Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospitals) from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019.\n\nMaterial & Methods: A matched case-control design was employed. Sixty-six diagnosed pre-eclamptic antenatal women were selected as cases and they were age and gestational weeks matched with sixty-six normotensive antenatal women as control, with a case to control ratio of 1:1. Serum homocysteine level in fasting sample was estimated by Enzyme linked immuno assay. Data was entered and analyzed through SPSS version 20.\n\nResults: The mean plasma homocysteine was significantly higher in cases (16.05 ± 2.25) as compared to controls (9.44±2.83) with a p value <0.001. Highly Significant statistical association was found between Hyperhomocysteinemia and Preeclampsia (p-value < 0.001 with adjusted Odds Ratio of 4.72).\n\nConclusion: Homocysteine levels a high in preeclamptic women as compared to normotensives showing that hyperhomocysteinemia is significantly associated with preeclampsia in antenatal women.