Background: Homocysteine (Hcy) an amino acid when it is increased causes Hyperhomocysteinemia and is associated with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), placental abruption, thromboembolic events, placental infarction and neural tube defects. This created the interest to analyze the levels of Hcy correlating it with the hypertension in pregnancy induced hypertensive patients.
Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze, correlate and compare the plasma Hcy levels along with other routine biochemical parameters in normal pregnant and PIH and to arrive at a cut off level of Hcy for these two groups.
Materials and Methods: The study population includes 140 subjects in age group of 20‑40 years. Out of that 40 non‑pregnant females were included in control group and in Study group 100 pregnant women in third trimester were included and sub grouped as: (1) 40 normotensive, (2) 60 PIH women. Hcy, fibrinogen and routine parameters were estimated and compared by Student’s t‑test.
Results: The mean reference value of the plasma Hcy level was 5.75 ± 3.34 µmol/l it ranges up to 15 µmol/L. The value is same for control and normal pregnant women. The mean Hcy value was increased in the PIH women (17.73 ± 7.09) and there was an associated significant increase in cholesterol and triglyceride (TGL), along with mild increase in serum alanine transaminase and uric acid levels. Conclusion: The Hcy level is well above the reference range in the PIH women along with significant increase in cholesterol and TGL level. This is injurious to the endothelial cell and impairs the function leading to hypertension. And mean cut off value was arrived to differentiate between the two groups and so Hcy plays an important biomarker in maternal health.
