Reproductive health of adolescent girls born prematurely: new forecasting opportunities

Abstract

Background. Premature delivery remains one of the most pressing issues in obstetrics. Aim. To assess the reproductive health of 16-year-old adolescent girls born prematurely to develop an algorithm to optimize its state. Materials and methods. A total of 180 adolescent girls aged 16 years were evaluated. The study group consisted of 120 adolescents born at a gestational age of 2736 weeks. Subgroup 1 consisted of 18 girls born at a gestational age of 2733 weeks, and subgroup 2 consisted of 102 adolescent girls born at 3436 weeks of gestation. The comparison group consisted of 60 girls born at term. The study material was peripheral venous blood. Hormonal and ultrasonic examination of the internal genital organs were performed. Results. In the main group vs. comparison group, an increase in serum leptin levels was observed: 9.4 (6.1; 15.5) and 6.9 (4.2; 9.2) ng/ml (p0.01). The leptin blood concentration in subgroup 2 showed a positive correlation with the body mass index (p=0.001). A more frequent increase in the number of antral follicles (10 in each ovary) was recorded in adolescents born prematurely. When assessing the results of correlation analysis, a positive direct correlation between the number of antral follicles and serum leptin concentration in adolescent girls born prematurely (p0.001) was observed. It was found that with a leptin level 15.8 ng/ml, there is an increase in the number of antral follicles, which may be the cause of reproductive disorders. Conclusion. Premature delivery and its long-term consequences (obesity and metabolic syndrome) contribute to hyperleptinemia, leading to ovarian function suppression in adolescents. Therefore, it is necessary to include leptin level measurement in the algorithm of examining adolescent girls for timely diagnosis and subsequent treatment of possible reproductive disorders.

Keywords

• adolescent girls
• leptin
• ultrasound examination