First trimester angiogenic and inflammatory factors in women with
chronic hypertension and impact of blood pressure control: a
case-control study.
Abstract
Objectives: Assess first trimester serum placental growth factor (PLGF),
soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6),
tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), endothelin and vascular cell adhesion
molecule (VCAM) in women with chronic hypertension (CH) stratified
according to blood pressure (BP) control. Design: Case-control. Setting:
Tertiary referral centre. Population: 650 women with CH, 142
normotensive controls. Methods: In the first trimester, patients with CH
were subdivided into 4 groups. Group 1 included women without
pre-pregnancy CH presenting with BP ≥140/90mmHg. Groups 2-4 had
pre-pregnancy CH; in group 2 the BP was <140/90mmHg without
antihypertensive medication, in group 3 the BP was <140/90mmHg
with antihypertensive medication and in group 4 the BP was ≥ 140/90 mmHg
despite antihypertensive medication. PLGF, sFLT-1, IL-6, TNF-α,
endothelin and VCAM were measured at 11+0-13+6 weeks’ and converted into
multiples of the expected median (MoM) using multivariate regression
analysis in the controls. Main outcome measure: Comparisons of MoM
values of PLGF, sFLT-1, IL-6, TNF-α, endothelin and VCAM between the 4
CH groups and the controls were made using analysis of variance or
Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: In the CH groups, compared to controls,
PLGF was reduced in groups 2-4, sFLT-1 was reduced in groups 2 and 3,
endothelin was increased in groups 1 and 4 but IL-6 was reduced in group
4. Conclusion: In women with CH, differences exist in first trimester
angiogenic and inflammatory profiles according to BP control. Further
evaluation is needed to determine if these differences are useful in the
stratification of care.