Lipid and lipoprotein concentrations during pregnancy and associations with ethnicity

Abstract

Background To describe ethnic differences in concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins, and their changes, during pregnancy to postpartum. Methods This was a population-based cohort study conducted in primary antenatal care in Norway. The participants (n = 806) were healthy, pregnant women, 59% were ethnic minorities. Outcomes were triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, analysed from fasting blood samples drawn at gestational age (weeks) 15, 28 and 14 weeks postpartum. We performed linear regression models and linear mixed models to explore the total effect of ethnicity on the outcomes, adjusting for gestational age /week postpartum, maternal age and education. The analyses are corrected for multiple testing using the Bonferroni correction. Results At gestational age 15, triglyceride concentrations were lower in women of African origin (1.03 mmol/mol (95% CI: 0.90, 1.16)) and higher in women of South Asian (primarily Pakistan and Sri Lanka) origin (1.42 mmol/mol (1.35, 1.49)) and East Asian (primarily Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand) origin (1.58 mmol/mol (1.43, 1.73)) compared with Western Europeans (1.26 mmol/mol (1.20, 1.32)). Women of Asian and African origin had a smaller increase in triglycerides, LDL- and total cholesterol from gestational age 15 to 28. At gestational age 28, LDL-cholesterol levels were lowest among East Asians (3.03 mmol/mol (2.72, 3.34)) compared with Western Europeans (3.62 mmol/mol (3.50, 3.74)). Triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol were lower postpartum than at gestational age 15 in all groups, but the concentration of LDL-cholesterol was higher, except in Africans. South and East Asian women had lower HDL-cholesterol and higher triglycerides postpartum, while African women had lower triglycerides than Western Europeans. Conclusion We found significant differences in the concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins and their changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum period related to ethnic origin.

The influence of the socioeconomic status and maternal serum lipids on lipid concentrations and anthropometry in the first year of life

“…Just like infant anthropometry, the serum lipid concentrations of newborns are in uenced multifactorial [26][27][28][29]. Among other things, the lipid concentrations of the mothers seem to be related to the lipid concentrations of the children (Table 4), although this connection could no longer be demonstrated after adjusting for maternal BMI and/or socioeconomic status.…”

Prevalence of postpartum anaemia and iron deficiency by serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor and total body iron, and associations with ethnicity and clinical factors: a Norwegian population-based cohort study

“…There were no significant differences between the study sample and the 250 excluded women regarding age, parity, pre-pregnant BMI and SEP (data not shown). However, the study sample consisted of a slightly larger proportion of ethnic minority women as they were prioritised for fasting blood samples at the postpartum visit due to resource limitations, compared with the excluded women (22) .…”

Epigenome-wide association study of serum folate in maternal peripheral blood leukocytes

“…Fasting plasma total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels were measured with a colorimetric method (Vitros 5.1 fs, Ortho clinical diagnostics, Neckargemünd, Germany) at Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway. LDL cholesterol was calculated with Friedewald`s formula [18,19].…”