Relationship Between Maternal Lipid Levels in Pregnancy and Major Congenital Malformations

To compare the lipid profile of pregnant women having fetuses that carried Major Non-syndromic Congenital Malformations (MNCA) (cases) with women of normal fetuses (controls).

This was a prospective observational case-control study. The majority of the cases had fetuses with neural tube defects (64%), and the rest of the fetuses had either congenital heart disease, urogenital malformations, or musculoskeletal disorders. Lipid profiles which included total cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) of cases were compared with gestation-matched controls. A single fasting blood sample was analyzed in both groups and assessed for lipids.

Hypotriglyceridemia, decreased cholesterol, HDL, and LDL were seen in cases in comparison with controls, Pearson's correlation coefficient (otherwise Spearman rank correlation coefficient) was applied to find out the correlation between case and controls, and it showed a statistically significant decrease in TGs, LDL, and HDL in cases in comparison with controls.

Triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL, and HDL are essential for the development of the fetus in early pregnancy. Studies have proven that a decrease in these levels in mothers leads to major congenital malformations. In our study, hypolipidemia might have an association with the prevalence of MNCA.

It is known that lipids are essential in embryogenesis and fetal development. An abnormal lipid profile can disturb this normal mechanism and lead to major malformations. A few studies have shown this association. Our study was done to find out any association between deviant lipid profile and occurrence of major congenital malformations.