Evaluation of Systolic, Diastolic and Mean Arterial Blood Pressure in the First Trimester of Pregnancy as an Indicator for Predicting the Occurrence of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a common disease during pregnancy that may be associated with maternal and fetal mortality. Since the pathogenic process of preeclampsia begins during the first trimester of pregnancy, it is very difficult to identify biomarkers of early detection of preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive validity of systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure in the first trimester of pregnancy in the diagnosis of preeclampsia.

This case-control study was performed on 200 pregnant women referred to Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital in Babol within a historical cohort. The data of the records of 100 pregnant women with preeclampsia diagnosis (case group) and 100 healthy women (control group) were filled in special forms and compared.

According to ROC curve analysis, in the first trimester for systolic blood pressure at the cut-off point of 117.5, sensitivity of 56% and specificity of 70%, for diastolic blood pressure at the cut-off point of 72.5, sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 63% and for mean arterial pressure at the cut-off point of 87.5, sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 66% were calculated. Based on the area under the ROC curve, the diagnostic power was 0.706, 0.663 and 0.709, respectively (p<0.001).

The results of the present study indicate that arterial pressure can be used as an effective method in identifying women at risk for preeclampsia as a selection criterion in testing, treatment or prevention.