FACTORS INFLUENCING THE LIPID INDEXES IN PREGNANT WOMEN

Diareme M,  Karkalousos P,  Theodoropoulos G,  Strouzas S,  Lazanas N.

Background

It is well known that during pregnancy lipid parameters like Chol, Trig, HDL and LDL are increasing considerably. This increase is more evident during second and third trimester.

Aim

Estimation of statistical models which would explain any relations between Chol, Trig, HDL and LDL and several predisposing factors.

Methods

We measured Chol, Trig, HDL and LDL in the serum of 332 pregnant and 102 non-pregnant women. Although the women belonged in many nationalities the majority of them were Greeks and Albanians. The distribution of women in the three pregnancy trimesters was: 150 – 100 – 82. The medical data from each woman concerned smoking, job, nationality, twin pregnancy, pregnancy mellitus and levels of cholesterol before pregnancy. Using several ways of multiple regression analysis we checked the efficiency of many models with several factors. We studied also the relation between the lipid indexes and the week of pregnancy.

Results

Cholesterol proved to be influenced by the week of pregnancy and the nationality, triglycerides by the week of pregnancy and women’s age, LDL by the week of pregnancy and BMI and LDL by the week of pregnancy and nationality. The most powerful of these models concerned triglycerides (coefficient of determination r² was equal to 65%). On the opposite the less powerful model concerned HDL (r² = 13%).

Conclusions

All lipid indexes are influenced by the week of pregnancy although this relation is not very powerful (excluded triglycerides). Cholesterol and LDL are influenced also by nationality. The last one has to do with the body formation and nutritional habits. Triglycerides are influenced also by age and HDL also by BMI.

 Tελευταία ενημέρωση:  Δευτέρα Σεπτεμβρίου 07, 2009