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Published on: August 2, 2017
Association between birth weight and first-trimester free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy-associated
Silvana Canini1, Federico Prefumo, Daniela Pastorino
1Laboratorio di Analisi, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy.
Study Objective:
To assess the relationship between first-trimester maternal serum PAPP-A and free beta-hCG and birth weight.
Design:
Observational study.
Setting:
Teaching hospital.
Patient(S):
Singleton pregnancies (n = 1,630) at 10-14 weeks of gestation.
Intervention(S):
Fluorimetric immunoassays for maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and free beta-hCG.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Customized birth weight percentiles, calculated taking into account maternal height, weight, ethnic origin, parity, smoking status, and fetal gender.
Result(S):
There was a significant positive correlation between birth weight and PAPP-A, but not free beta-hCG levels. Maternal serum levels of PAPP-A were significantly lower in small-for-gestation (SGA) newborns than in control subjects and were significantly higher in large-for-gestation (LGA) newborns than in control subjects. Maternal serum free beta-hCG levels were lower in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia than in normotensive ones. Multivariable analysis found PAPP-A to be an independent predictor of absolute birth weight, SGA, and LGA. Free beta-hCG was found to be an independent predictor of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Neither of the two markers was associated with preterm delivery.
Conclusion(S):
Maternal serum PAPP-A levels in the late first trimester of pregnancy are associated with subsequent fetal growth (including both physiologic variation and abnormal growth), and decreased free beta-hCG is more predictive of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
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