BackgroundAnaemia in pregnant women is a public health problem, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and related risk factors of anaemia during pregnancy in a large multicentre retrospective study (n = 44,002) and to determine the adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with or without anaemia.MethodsThe study is a secondary data analysis of a retrospective study named “Gestational diabetes mellitus Prevalence Survey (GPS) study in China”. Structured questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic characteristics, haemoglobin levels and pregnancy outcomes from all the participants. Anaemia in pregnancy is defined as haemoglobin < 110 g/L. We used SPSS software to assess the predictors of anaemia and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes.ResultsThe overall prevalence of anaemia was 23.5%. Maternal anaemia was significantly associated with maternal age ≥ 35 years (AOR = 1.386), family per capita monthly income< 1000 CNY (AOR = 1.671), rural residence (AOR = 1.308) and pre-pregnancy BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 (AOR = 1.237). Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including GDM, polyhydramnios, preterm birth, low birth weight (< 2500 g), neonatal complications and NICU admission, increased significantly (P < 0.001) in those with anaemia than those without.ConclusionsThe results indicated that anaemia continues to be a severe health problem among pregnant women in China. Anaemia is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Pregnant women should receive routine antenatal care and be given selective iron supplementation when appropriate.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1739-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
BackgroundHemoglobin (Hb) measurement is a standard test among pregnant women during the first perinatal visit that is used to evaluate physical status and anemia. However, studies focusing on Hb levels and pregnancy outcomes are scarce. This study aimed to determine whether Hb levels in early pregnancy were associated with the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), pre-eclampsia (PE) and preterm birth.MethodsA hospital-based retrospective study was conducted among 21,577 singleton, non-smoking pregnancies between June 2013 and January 2015. The demographic data and medical information of each participant were collected individually through questionnaires and patient medical records. Odds ratios were generated using a multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relative risk of GDM, PE and preterm birth continuously and across different hemoglobin ranges in the overall population and in women from different pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories, respectively. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05.Results(1) For women who were underweight, normal-weight, overweight and obese, early pregnancy Hb levels were 127.8 ± 10.1 g/L, 129.6 ± 9.7 g/L, 132.2 ± 9.5 g/L and 133.4 ± 9.4 g/L, respectively. (2) Women with GDM and PE had significantly increased Hb levels during early pregnancy compared with controls, whereas women with preterm birth processed significantly decreased Hb levels. (3) After adjusting for confounders, the risks for GDM and PE increased with high maternal Hb (OR: 1.27 for Hb 130–149; OR: 2.06 for Hb ≥ 150 g/L), and the risk for preterm birth decreased with high maternal Hb (OR: 1.30 for Hb 130–149; OR: 2.38 for Hb ≥ 150 g/L) and increased with low maternal Hb (OR: 1.41 for Hb < 110 g/L). Among women whose BMI was < 24 kg/m2, high GDM (OR: 1.27 for Hb 130–149; OR: 1.84 for Hb ≥ 150 g/L) and low preterm rates (OR: 0.77 for Hb 130–149; OR: 0.23 for Hb ≥ 150 g/L) were observed with high Hb, whereas in women whose BMI was ≥24 kg/m2, only high GDM rates were observed with Hb > 150 g/L (OR: 2.33).ConclusionThese findings suggest that Hb levels during early pregnancy play a role in predicting the risk of GDM, PE and preterm birth.
Pre‐eclampsia (PE) is a serious hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that remains a leading cause of perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Placental ischemia/hypoxia and the secretion of soluble fms‐like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) into maternal circulation are involved in the pathogenesis of PE. Although low‐dose aspirin (LDA) has beneficial effects on the prevention of PE, the exact mechanisms of action of LDA, particularly on placental dysfunction, and sFlt1 release, have not been well investigated. This study aimed to determine whether LDA exists the protective effects on placental trophoblast and endothelial functions and prevents PE‐associated sFlt1 release. First, we observed that LDA mitigated hypoxia‐induced trophoblast apoptosis, showed positive effects on trophoblast cells migration and invasion activity, and increased the tube‐forming activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition, LDA decreased hypoxia‐induced sFlt1 production, and the c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase/activator protein‐1 (JNK/AP‐1) pathway was shown to mediate the induction of sFlt1. Moreover, the transcription factor AP‐1 was confirmed to regulate the Flt1 gene expression by directly binding to the Flt1 promoter in luciferase assays. The result of chromatin immunoprecipitation assays further demonstrated that LDA could directly decrease the expression of the transcription factor AP‐1, and thus decrease sFlt1 production. Finally, the effects of LDA on sFlt1 production were proved in human placental explants. Taken together, our data show the protective effects of LDA against trophoblast and endothelial cell dysfunction and reveal that the LDA‐mediated inhibition of sFlt1 via the JNK/AP‐1 pathway may be a potential cellular/molecular mechanism for the prevention of PE.
BackgroundLow-dose aspirin (LDA) has been proposed as a safe and inexpensive prophylactic agent. Studies in European/Western populations have shown promising results indicating that LDA can reduce the occurrence of pre-eclampsia (PE) in women with identifiable risk factors. However, few controlled trials, particularly large randomized controlled trials, have been performed in Asian populations. The aim of this project is to evaluate the effect of LDA for PE prevention on high-risk pregnant women in China, where PE is highly prevalent and the LDA supply status is commonly suboptimal.Methods/designAn open-label, multicentre randomized controlled trial is being conducted at 13 tertiary hospitals in 11 provinces in China. A total of 1000 eligible women with high-risk factors for developing PE according to their medical histories are being randomized into two groups: a control group (n = 500) and an intervention group (n = 500). Women with high-risk factors, such as a history of PE, chronic hypertension, type 1 or 2 diabetes, advanced maternal age, obesity, family history of PE or nulliparity are eligible. The control group is advised to undergo routine examinations, whereas the intervention group undergoes the routine examinations and receives LDA. LDA (100 mg/d) should be prescribed at night, initiating from early pregnancy (12–20 weeks of gestation) and lasting until 34 weeks of gestation. Demographic data and clinical endpoint outcomes, as well as biological samples (e.g., maternal blood, cord blood, amniotic fluid and placental samples), will be collected. The primary outcome is the occurrence of PE, and the secondary outcomes include maternal and neonatal outcomes and maternal biomarker levels.DiscussionThis is the first and largest multicentre randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of LDA in preventing PE in a Chinese population. The results will potentially influence the prenatal care recommendations in China regarding intervention with LDA for PE.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02797249. Registered on 7 June 2016.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2970-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Inside Cover: The cover image is based on the Original Research Article Low‐dose aspirin reduces hypoxia‐induced sFlt1 release via the JNK/AP‐1 pathway in human trophoblast and endothelial cells by Li Lin et al., DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.28533.
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