Evaluation of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and serum lipid profile in southeastern Nigerian women with pre-eclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipid profile in women with pre-eclampsia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five women with and 35 women without pre-eclampsia, who were in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, were enrolled in this study. Weight in kilogrammes and height in metres were measured to calculate the mean body mass index (BMI) for each group. The diastolic and systolic blood pressures were measured. Lipid profile tests and serum CRP assay were done for all patients. Total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined using enzymatic methods, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated using Friedewald's formula.

RESULTS: The mean values of the BMI were 29.47 ± 6.90 versus 26.14 ± 2.92, of the diastolic blood pressure 109.14 ± 15.41 versus 72.29 ± 9.42 mm Hg and of the systolic blood pressure 170.57 ± 19.55 versus 120.86 ± 17.72 mm Hg for women with and without pre-eclampsia, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.012, p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The biochemical analysis also indicated that the women with pre-eclampsia had a significantly higher mean serum CRP (8.57 ± 2.68 vs. 6.46 ± 2.46 mg/l, p = 0.001), TG (2.84 ± 0.45 vs. 1.87 ± 0.38 mmol/l, p = 0.001) and total cholesterol (5.59 ± 0.92 vs. 4.63 ± 0.78 mmol/l, p = 0.001) level but a lower mean HDL-C (1.10 ± 0.12 vs. 1.26 ± 0.15 mmol/l, p = 0.001) level than the controls. There was no statistical difference in the mean LDL-C values between the 2 groups (1.58 ± 0.8 vs. 1.45 ± 0.78 mmol/l, p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Significant changes in CRP as well as TG, total cholesterol and HDL-C were associated with pre-eclampsia in these Southeastern Nigerian women.