Can Betatrophin Predict the Risk of Preeclampsia?

Abstract

Introduction: Preeclampsia, a hypertensive disease of pregnancy, is globally one of the primary causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Betatrophin is shown to be a novel adipokine in pathophysiology of metabolic disorders. It plays a role in glucose and lipid metabolism and is associated with diabetes mellitus, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Aim: To analyse the relationship between betatrophin levels and the occurrence/severity of preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out for a sample of 73 women diagnosed with preeclampsia (severe and mild) and 76 healthy pregnant controls matched for betatrophin levels, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and gestational age. All data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 program (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Distribution of data was evaluated with Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Results were presented as medians (interquartile range) except for normal parameters that are presented as mean±SD. The data with normal distribution were analysed with one-way ANOVA test whereas data without normal distribution were evaluated with Kruskal-Wallis test. Correlations between betatrophin and biochemical markers were assessed using Spearman’s correlation test. Results were evaluated with 95% confidence intervals and the level of significance was indicated as p<0.05. Results: Betatrophin levels (in ng/mL) were 2.2±0.6 in severe preeclampsia group, 2.0±0.5 in mild preeclampsia group, and 1.3±0.6 in control group. There were significant differences between severe preeclampsia and control groups (p<0.001) and also between mild preeclampsia and control groups (p<0.001). On the other hand, no significant difference was found between severe and mild preeclampsia groups. Furthermore, betatrophin concentrations were found to be significantly positively correlated with both diastolic blood pressure and Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance Index (HOMA-IR) (p<0.001). This is also shown to be associated with the presence of preeclampsia. Conclusion: Betatrophin is believed to be an important predictive biomarker that can be studied for early diagnosis and management of preeclampsia in pregnancies with high risk. More specifically, studies that focus on the evolution of this relationship over the pregnancy weeks could help reduce the maternal and fetal death rates in developing countries. Further randomized trials are needed in order to determine the applicability of this approach in clinical practice.

Keywords

• betatrophin
• mild preeclampsia
• severe preeclampsia