Correlation between the expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP and unfavorable fetal outcomes in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension

Abstract

The expression of inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), in patients with pregnancy‑induced hypertension (PIH) was investigated, to analyze correlation of expression levels of these factors in patients with unfavorable fetal outcome. A total of 100 patients diagnosed with PIH treated in Jining First People's Hospital (Jining, China) from January 2012 to October 2017 were selected as the experimental group, while 100 normal pregnant women during the same period were selected as the control group. Results showed that the levels of IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP in patients with PIH were significantly higher than those in normal pregnant women (p<0.01). There were significant differences in levels of IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP among patients with hypertension in different degrees. The expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP in PIH patients with favorable pregnancy outcome were lower than those in patients with unfavorable pregnancy outcome (p<0.05). Moreover, the expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP had a linearly positive correlation with systolic blood pressure in PIH patients. Age, height and weight had no significant correlation with unfavorable pregnancy outcome of PIH patients (p>0.05). Finally, inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6 and hs-CRP) and blood pressure were obviously and positively correlated with unfavorable pregnancy outcome of PIH patients (p<0.05). In conclusion, the expression of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6 and hs-CRP) in PIH patients are positively correlated with the systolic blood pressure and unfavorable fetal outcome of patients, which can be used as indexes of prognosis evaluation of PIH patients.