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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Mar 14;211(4):377.e1–377.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2014.03.026

Table 5.

Results of log binomial regression and associated performance analyses examining the association between second trimester serum biomarker pattern and severe preeclampsia

Severe Preeclampsia
n (%)
Rate (1/x)
RR (95% CI)a
Sensitivity (%)
Specificity (%)
PPV (%)
NPV (%)
Sample (n = 136,139) 1,208 (0.9) 112.7 --
No abnormal biomarkersb (n = 93,228) 666 (0.7) 140.0 Reference
Any Early Onset Preeclampsia ‘at risk’ Quad Biomarkerc (n = 21,290) 391 (1.8) 54.5 2.7 (2.0, 3.6)d 32.4 84.5 1.8 99.3
One ‘at risk’ biomarker
High AFP (n = 5,270) 67 (1.3) 78.7 1.5 (0.7, 2.9) 5.5 96.1 1.3 99.1
High hCG (n = 3,902) 35 (0.9) 111.5 1.6 (0.8, 3.2) 2.9 97.1 0.9 99.1
High INH (n = 3,845) 81 (2.1) 47.5 2.7 (1.6, 4.7)d 6.7 97.2 2.1 99.1
Low uE3 (n = 4,471) 47 (1.1) 95.1 1.2 (0.5, 2.7) 3.9 96.7 1.1 99.1
Two ‘at risk’ biomarkers
High AFP and hCG (n = 470) 10 (2.1) 47.0 7.2 (2.7, 19.1)d 0.8 99.7 2.1 99.1
High AFP and INH (n = 424) 21 (5.0) 20.2 10.4 (4.4, 24.7)d 1.7 99.7 5.0 99.1
High hCG and INH (n = 1,526) 52 (3.4) 29.3 5.0 (2.7, 9.4)d 4.3 98.9 3.4 99.1
High AFP, Low uE3 (n = 144) 2 (1.4) 72.0 1.9 (0.5, 7.7)e 0.2 99.9 1.4 99.1
High hCG, Low uE3 (n = 290) 4 (1.4) 72.5 4.3 (1.1, 17.1)f 0.3 99.8 1.4 99.1
High INH, Low uE3 (n = 235) 14 (6.0) 16.8 3.5 (0.5, 23.2) 1.2 99.8 6.0 99.1
Three or more ‘at risk’ biomarkers
High AFP, hCG, and INH (n = 403) 35 (8.7) 11.5 15.8 (7.7, 32.5)d 2.9 99.7 8.7 99.1
High AFP, hCG and Low uE3 (n = 24) 1 (4.2) 24.0 5.8 (0.9, 39.8)e 0.1 100.0 4.2 99.1
High AFP, INH and Low uE3 (n = 38) 5 (13.2) 7.6 18.4 (8.1, 41.8)d,e 0.4 100.0 13.2 99.1
High hCG, INH and Low uE3 (n = 188) 12 (6.4) 15.7 13.0 (5.0, 33.7)d 1.0 99.9 6.4 99.1
High AFP, hCG, INH and Low uE3 (n = 60) 5 (8.3) 12.0 34.2 (9.9, 117.9)d 0.4 100.0 8.3 99.1

PPV, positive predictive value; NPV, negative predictive value; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; hCG, human choronic gonatotropin; uE3, unconjugated estriol; INH, inhibin-A; “High” biomarker = Multiple of the Median (MoM) ≥ 95th percentile; “Isolated” biomarker = all ‘at risk’other biomarker MoMs > 5th and < 95th percentile.

a

Unless otherwise indicated, binomial analyses included Hispanic and black race/ethnicity, maternal age ≤ 17 years, maternal age ≥ 35 years, weight at testing > 95th percentile and any diabetes (all dichotomized as yes versus no).

b

AFP, hCG, uE3 and INH MoMs all between the 5th and 95th percentile (AFP > 0.60, < 1.74; hCG > 0.42, < 2.35; uE3 >0.61, < 1.49; INH > 0.48, < 1.95). 21,621 pregnancies were not included who had neither ‘at risk’ biomarkers nor ‘no abnormal’ biomarkers.

c

Any high biomarker and/or low uE3 (all biomarkers found to be predictive in Table 2)

d

p < 0.001

e

Crude model (insufficient power to adjust for other factors listed in a).

f

p < 0.05