Physical activity pattern and Pre-eclampsia risk biomarkers: an observational study

Screening tests for preterm pre-eclampsia (PE) include maternal risk factors, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI) and serum placental growth factor (PlGF). Exercise interventions have been shown to improve vascular function in pregnant women, which could mediate improvements in angiogenic balance. However, few studies have analyzed how sedentarism and/or physical activity levels are associated with biomarkers of PE. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between objectively measured physical activity and sedentarism levels with PE risk biomarkers. We hypothesized that higher PA levels would be associated with lower MAP and UtA-PI, and higher PlGF. This was an ancillary study with a convenience sampling from a larger cohort (PREVAL study). Physical activity and sedentarism levels were objectively measured by actigraphy (GT9X Actigraph) in 21 women during the first trimester of pregnancy. We measured PE biomarkers: UtA-PI by ultrasound, PlGF in serum and MAP with a digital sphygmomanometer. The sample was stratified in 2 groups for both physical activity and sedentarism level. Comparisons between groups for PE biomarkers were performed using T-test or Mann Whitney U-test. The level of significance was set at 0.05. PlGF was 57.6 % higher in the active group than in the low-active group (P = 0.018). UtA-PI and MAP were lower in the active group and low-sedentary group although differences were not significant. Moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with PlGF levels. Therefore, our study suggests a plausible connection between MVPA and biomarkers of PE.