Maternal Serum Adiponectin at 11-13 Weeks of Gestation in Pregnancies Delivering Small for Gestation Neonates

Objective: To investigate whether maternal serum levels of adiponectin in the first trimester are altered in pregnancies that subsequently deliver small for gestational age (SGA) neonates. Methods: Maternal serum adiponectin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were measured at 11–13 weeks’ gestation in 50 singleton normotensive pregnancies that delivered SGA neonates and 300 non-SGA controls. The median adiponectin and PAPP-A levels in the SGA and non-SGA groups, expressed as multiple of the unaffected median (MoM), were compared. Results: The distribution of serum adiponectin was made gaussian by square root (sqrt) transformation. Regression analysis in the non-SGA group demonstrated that for sqrt adiponectin a significant independent contribution was provided by maternal age, weight, smoking status, African and South-Asian racial origin. Each value in the SGA and non-SGA group was then converted into a multiple of the non-SGA median (MoM) after Received: November 1, 2010 Accepted after revision: November 22, 2010 Published online: February 3, 2011 Prof. K.H. Nicolaides Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King’s College Hospital Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS (UK) Tel. +44 203 299 8256, Fax +44 207 733 9534 E-Mail kypros @ fetalmedicine.com © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel 1015–3837/11/0294–0274$38.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/fdt D ow nl oa de d by : 54 .7 0. 40 .1 1 11 /5 /2 01 7 7: 07 :0 9 P M