Evaluation of estriol levels in women with preeclampsia in Nnewi, South-East Nigeria

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening pregnancy-induced disorder characterized by the presence of hypertension and proteinuria occurring after 20 weeks of gestation in a previously normotensive and aproteinuric woman. This study is aimed at investigating the maternal serum levels of estriol in pregnant women with preeclampsia. This is an analytical cross-sectional study including a total of 90 pregnant women aged 18-41years at 26-40 weeks of gestation, according to the last date of menstruation and ultrasonographic measurements. Forty five of these were preeclamptic while the other forty five were apparently healthy individuals. Preeclampsia was determined by proteinuria ≥30mg/dl or ≥1+ using a urine dipstick and sphygmomanometer blood pressure reading of ≥ 140/90 mmHg using ausculatory method. BMI was calculated from weight and height measurements of each participant. Estriol (E3) levels were determined utilizing the double-antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique. Hypothesis testing was done using the student’s t-test for continuous variables, Chi-square test for categorical variables and Pearson’s correlation for the tests of association. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. The mean serum values of E3 were significantly lower in women with preeclampsia (124.18±22.40) compared with the apparently healthy control counterparts (141.41±20.68, p<0.001). A moderate negative correlation was observed between maternal serum estriol level and BMI in the preeclamptic group (r = -0.589; p<0.001). There existed a strong negative correlation between maternal serum estriol level and systolic (r = -0.738; p<0.001) as well as diastolic (r = -0.711; p<0.001) blood pressures in women with preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is associated with lower maternal serum levels of estriol which may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of the disorder.