Serum adiponectin levels in normotensive and pre-eclamptic women at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Adiponectin is a hormone produced mainly by adipocytes. The levels of adiponectin are inversely related to insulin resistance, hypertension and obesity. Physiological insulin resistance is exaggerated in pre-eclamptic women. The objective of the present study was therefore to compare scrum adiponectin levels in pre-eclamptic patients and normotensive patients. Methods: This prospective study was conducted among one hundred and twenty women. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all consenting participants, consisting of sixty pre-eclamptic patients as cases and sixty normotensive pregnant women at comparable gestational age as control. Concentration of serum adiponectin was measured by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: Serum levels of adiponectin were significantly higher in the pre-eclamptic group(p<0.001). Body mass index was also significantly higher in women with pre-eclampsia (p<0.01). In the pre-eclamptic patients, serum levels of adiponectin showed a weak negative correlation with BMI (r= -0.16, p= 0.22) and no correlation was found in normotensive patients. Conclusion: This study showed a clear distinction in the serum adiponectin concentration between pre-eclamptic and normotensive pregnant women. The impact of BMI on serum adiponectin in both groups also differs. Therefore, serum adiponectin may be useful in predicting pre-eclampsia.