Ferritin Levels among Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in a Tertiary Care Hospital Setting: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: According to a WHO report, the prevalence of anemia is the highest in children less than five years of age (40%) and pregnant women of the global population (37%). The prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was 7.8% in India. 14% of maternal deaths are attributed to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, according to a WHO report. Our study aimed to evaluate the variation of serum ferritin (SF) levels in four different groups: (1) normal pregnancy, (2) pregnancy with anemia, (3) pregnancy with hypertensive disorders, and (4) pregnancy with hypertensive disorders and anemia, to derive an association of SF in patients of anemia and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Methods: Thirty diagnosed cases of each predefined group of similar gestation were enrolled. A venous blood sample was collected from all subjects of all four groups for estimation of SF levels and hemoglobin levels. Results: SF level was found to be significantly around twofold higher in groups 3 and 4 with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (60.6 ± 27.5 μg/dL and 54.4 ± 26 μg/dL, respectively) compared to normal pregnancy and pregnancy with anemia (31.3 ± 25 μg/dL and 23.3 ± 21.6 μg/dL, respectively). Hence, the Kruskal–Wallis test was conducted for four groups, and it was statistically significant. Conclusions: In our study, pregnant women with anemia had lower SF levels than normal pregnancy cases. However, in group 4 with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with anemia SF levels were higher than group 2.

Keywords

• anemia-hypertensive disorder of pregnancy
• hemoglobin
• serum ferritin
• pre-eclampsia