Estimation of homocysteine concentration as an indicator of foetal death in pregnant Chinese women with preeclampsia: A case–control study

Abstract

Introduction: This study evaluated whether changes in homocysteine concentrations in pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) might be useful for predicting foetal death. Materials and methods: This study evaluated 1,368 PE women at two Chinese centres. Medical records were reviewed to collect data regarding maternal age, homocysteine concentrations and other clinical parameters. Results: Maternal serum homocysteine concentrations were significantly higher in the group with PE than control. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were also observed between the foetal death and survival groups in terms of body mass index, neonatal weight, previous deliveries, gestation length and adverse pregnancy history. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that upper-quartile homocysteine concentration was a significant risk factor of foetal death in the group with PE, and overall survival rate of patients with high homocysteine concentrations during pregnancy was significantly lower than those with low level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results indicate that foetal death was associated with upper-quartile homocysteine concentrations in the group with PE, it can be an indicator of foetal death throughout the pregnancy.