Determination of the lipid profile of cord blood in neonates and its correlation with maternal age in Iran

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality in Iran; with dyslipidemia as an important contributing risk factor. Objectives: To assess the early onset of dyslipidemia, our goal was to determine lipids and lipoproteins levels in cord blood and their correlation with maternal age as a first study in Iran. Patients and Methods: This cross sectional study was done on the cord blood of 243 healthy, full-term newborn infants (114 females and 129 males). The blood was sampled from the umbilical cord immediately after a normal delivery. The serum was tested in order to determine the lipid profile including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). Low density-lipoprotein (LDL-C) was computed by Friedewald equation. Results: A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between cord blood HDL-C and maternal age (r = -0.18, P < 0.01). There was no relationship between other lipids and lipoproteins with maternal age. Our findings also showed the TC, TG and LDL-C mean level were significantly more and the mean level of HDL-C was significantly lower than reference value. Additionally, the mean of TC and LDL-C in female neonates were significantly more than the male (P < 0.01). Also, there was no correlation between cord blood lipids and lipoproteins with birth weight and maternal body mass index (BMI). Conclusions: In a current study based on increasing maternal age, the HDL-C level in cord blood was decreased which is an independent risk factor for CVDs in adulthood.