Table 1.
The clinical characteristics of the normotensive controls and cases of pregnancy-induced hypertension.
| Characteristics | Controls (n = 363) * | Cases (n = 121) * | p ** |
|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) or Mean (SD); Median | N (%) or Mean (SD); Median | ||
| Basic: | |||
| Maternal age (years) | 35.05 (3.99); 36.00 | 35.05 (4.21); 36.00 | 0.907 |
| Maternal age (range) | (22–45) | (19–45) | |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m2) | 25.03 (4.40); 24.38 | 26.76 (5.37); 26.47 | 0.003 |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI (range) | (16.52–39.41) | (18.17–42.91) | |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI ≥30 kg/m2 | 48 (13.22%) | 34 (28.10%) | 0.0002 |
| Gestational age at recruitment (weeks) | 12.25 (0.80); 12.00 | 11.55 (0.82); 11.00 | 1.97 × 10−16 |
| Gestational age at recruitment (range) | (10–14) | (10–14) | |
| Primiparous | 141 (38.84%) | 56 (46.28%) | 0.149 |
| Prior PE *** | 2 (0.55%) | 13 (10.74%) | <0.001 |
| Pre-term delivery in history | 19 (5.23%) | 7 (5.79%) | 0.816 |
| ART | 18 (4.96%) | 11 (9.09%) | 0.097 |
| Women who had never smoked | 302 (83.20%) | 92 (76.03%) | 0.080 |
| Pack-years during recruitment | 19.25 (32.51); 6.63 | 21.21 (32.26); 8.75 | 0.748 |
| Vitamin supplementation | |||
| Folic acid supplementation in I trimester | 126 (34.71%) | 22 (18.18%) | 0.0006 |
| Multivitamin supplementation in II-III trimester | 184 (50.69%) | 50 (41.32%) | 0.074 |
| Microelement concentrations (µg/L) **** | |||
| Iron | 1043.85 (338.77); 995.66 | 948.86 (333.73); 908.27 | 0.011 |
| Selenium | 62.89 (8.70); 62.02 | 57.51 (6.54); 57.40 | <0.00001 |
| Copper | 1767.53 (338.67); 1746.67 | 1698.33 (298.37); 1671.44 | 0.059 |
| Zinc | 628.03 (174.57); 607.49 | 610.19 (87.58); 607.66 | 0.690 |
| Outcomes | |||
| PE | - | 15 | - |
| GDM | 73 (20.11%) | 23 (19.01%) | 0.792 |
| Gestational age at delivery (weeks) | 38.71 (1.77); 39.0 | 37.99 (2.62); 39.0 | 0.011 |
| Delivery <37 week | 23 (6.34%) | 16 (13.22%) | 0.016 |
| Newborn birthweight (g) | 3385.28 (546.81); 3400.00 | 3113.06 (785.36); 3150.00 | 0.0003 |
| Birthweight <10 centiles | 21 (5.79%) | 22 (18.18%) | 0.00003 |
* Normotensive controls and cases of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH); ** The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparisons of continuous variables, p-value <0.05 was assumed to be significant (medians were compared); ** The Pearson chi-square test was used for categorical variables comparisons (p-value <0.05 was assumed to be significant); *** PE: preeclampsia; ART: assisted reproductive technology; GDM Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; **** in serum from 10–14 gestational week.