Objectives: To evaluate the susceptibility to oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in women with a history of pre-eclampsia.
Design: A case-control study.
Setting: The departments of obstetrics and gynaecology at two university teaching hospitals.
Population: Women delivering one to three years before enrollment, 35 who were diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia and 35 controls matched for age, body mass index (BMI), smoking and parity.
Methods: Plasma samples were analysed for total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoprotein A. The in vitro susceptibility to oxidation of LDL was measured and expressed in minutes (lag time). Results are expressed as mean and standard deviation.
Main outcome measures: Serum lipid profile and in vitro susceptibility to oxidation of LDL.
Results: Mean LDL cholesterol (116 [37] vs 98 [20] mg/dL, P < 0.05) and trygliceride (112 [56] vs 78 [38] mg/dL, P < 0.05) levels were significantly higher in the groups of women who had pre-eclampsia compared with controls. The rest of the measured lipid parameters were similar between the two study groups. The susceptibility to oxidation of LDL was also significantly higher in the pre-eclampsia group (lag time: 37.9 [8.4] vs 44.8 [9.1] minutes, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Women with a history of pre-eclampsia have significant differences in lipid parameters and an increased susceptibility to lipoprotein oxidation when compared with women who had a normal pregnancy one to three years after delivery.