Circulating anti-angiogenic factors during hypertensive pregnancy and increased risk of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm neonates.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To test the hypothesis that high circulating concentrations of maternal anti-angiogenic factors are associated with increased risk of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

STUDY DESIGN:

This is a nested case-control study of nulliparous women who delivered less than 37 weeks of gestation within the Calcium for Preeclampsia Prevention (CPEP) trial. The study included 116 women with preeclampsia or gestational hypertension and 323 normotensive controls. Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble endoglin (sEng) in maternal serum were measured at 21-32 weeks of gestation.

RESULTS:

Preterm infants born to hypertensive mothers were more likely to develop RDS (22.5% vs. 20.9%, p = 0.03). After adjustment for gestational age at delivery, the odds ratio for the relationship between hypertension in pregnancy and RDS was 2.18 (95% CI 1.08-4.39). In hypertensive pregnancies women whose infants developed RDS had significantly higher circulating mean sFlt1 levels during midpregnancy (21-32 weeks of gestation) even after adjustment for gestational age at delivery (21,516 pg/mL vs. 7,000 pg/mL, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS:

Preterm preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, characterized by high circulating levels of sFlt1, are associated with a twofold increased risk of RDS in infants delivered before 37 weeks. Among women with these hypertensive pregnancies circulating sFlt1 concentrations during midpregnancy were substantially higher in women whose infants developed RDS.

• Authors: Alice Wang, Alexander M Holston, Kai F Yu, Jun Zhang, Mourad Toporsian, S Ananth Karumanchi, Richard J Levine
• Journal: The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians (J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med) Vol. 25 Issue 8 Pg. 1447-52 (Aug 2012) ISSN: 1476-4954 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22097923 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Angiogenesis Inhibitors (analysis, blood)
• Case-Control Studies
• Double-Blind Method
• Female
• Humans
• Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced (blood, epidemiology)
• Infant, Newborn
• Infant, Premature (physiology)
• Pregnancy
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn (blood, epidemiology, etiology)
• Risk Factors
• Young Adult