Assessment of Maternal Vitamin D and CRP Plasma Levels Correlation to Preeclampsia and Its Severity: Case Control Study

Preeclampsia is a serious, inflammatory-mediated hypertensive disorder of pregnancy affecting approximately 8% of all pregnancies. Based on recent studies, women with vitamin D deficiency may have an increased risk of developing preeclampsia. The aim of the study was to evaluate the vitamin D and CRP levels and explore the role and correlation between each other and also occurrence of preeclampsia.

55 preeclamptic women and 55 healthy pregnant women were selected from Kamali hospital in karaj, Iran. 6 ml of venous blood sample was collected from each pregnant woman and the serum 25-OH-D and CRP levels were measured by ELISA which reported in ng/mL and mg/dL, respectively. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi square and logistic regression.

Preeclamptic women (n=55) were noted to have decreased total 25-OH-D and elevated CRP levels relative to healthy control women (n=55; P<0.001). This difference in vitamin D deficiency remained significant after adjustment for maternal age and BMI [odds ratio (OR) = 12.54, confidence interval (CI) = 1.03–154.95, P=0.047].

These results showed that vitamin D deficiency and abnormal inflammatory status have a statistically significant relationship with preeclampsia and support the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for preeclampsia in the context of an inflammatory condition.