Low second trimester maternal serum unconjugated oestriol in pregnancies with Down's syndrome

Second trimester maternal serum unconjugated oestriol levels were measured in the stored serum samples from 22 pregnancies associated with Down's syndrome and 110 unaffected control pregnancies, matched for maternal age, gestational age, duration of storage of the serum sample, smoking habits and maternal weight. The serum unconjugated oestriol level of each affected pregnancy was expressed as a multiple of the median (MoM) of its five matched controls. The unconjugated oestriol levels were significantly lower in the affected pregnancies than in the unaffected pregnancies; the median MoM was 0.79 (P less than 0.05). This association between low serum unconjugated oestriol and fetal Down's syndrome early in pregnancy raises the possibility that serum unconjugated oestriol measurement may be added to maternal age and alpha-fetoprotein measurement in the antenatal screening for Down's syndrome.