Inflammatory and Angiogenic Factors at Mid-Pregnancy Are Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Birth in a Cohort of Tanzanian Women.

ABSTRACT:

Research question

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of perinatal mortality worldwide, with the greatest burden occurring in resource-constrained settings. Based on the hypothesis that altered placental angiogenesis and inflammation early in pregnancy lead to PTB, we examined whether levels of inflammatory and angiogenic mediators, measured early in pregnancy, were predictive of spontaneous PTB (sPTB).

Study design

Plasma samples were collected from a prospective cohort of primigravid Tanzanian women between 12-27 weeks gestation. A panel of 18 markers was screened on a training cohort of 426 women. Markers associated with sPTB in the training cohort were repeated in a test cohort of 628 women. All markers were measured by ELISA.

Findings

In both the training an

SUBMITTER: McDonald CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4527774 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature