![Sample our Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing & Allied Health journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5944/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Medicine-Dentistry-Nursing-Allied-Health.jpg"})
Abstract
Problem
Prior results on the association between serum uric acid (UA) levels in the early trimester and the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) remain unclear. This study evaluated the association of maternal first-, second-, and third-trimester UA levels with the risk of SGA infants.
Method of study
A total of 23, 194 singleton mothers from the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital between January 2014 and January 2017 were included. Maternal UA levels were measured at 12.1 ± 1.08th (UA1) and 32.2 ± 1.03th (UA2) gestational weeks. △UA was calculated as the difference between UA2 and UA1. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were performed to evaluate the association between maternal UA and △UA during pregnancy and SGA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to assess the serum uric acid prediction value.
Results
Women in the higher quartiles of UA1 had a significantly higher risk of SGA. A clear increased risk for SGA was observed with higher quartiles for UA2 (p for trend <0.05). An approximately “J-shaped” relationship was observed between UA2 and △UA, and the risk of SGA was observed. When compared with those with a lower level of UA in the first trimester, those with a higher level of UA1, the more increase in the later UA levels were associated with a higher risk of SGA [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.67, 95% CI:1.37–2.05]. The ROC curve areas were 0.525 for UA1, 0.582 for UA2 and 0.576 for △UA.
Conclusions
The findings suggested that non-preeclamptic and non-hypertensive women who experienced early pregnancy with high UA levels had an elevated risk of SGA. Moreover, a high maternal UA level in the earlier trimester may be an early predictor of SGA.
Acknowledgements
We thank all participants for their support and help in this study and all clinical staff at the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital for their support and contribution.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study was performed in accordance with the relevant national guidelines and local regulations. The protocol for this study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital (No. GKLW2016-21), School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration number: ChiCTR1900027447). According to World Medical Association standards, the study was conducted following the declaration of HELSINKI.
Author contributions
ZL and HL conceived and designed the study. YW, XH, and ZT collected the data and assisted with the study design. HL contributed to the statistical analysis and wrote the manuscript. YW and QZ provided statistical advice and assisted with the data analysis. ZL and HL have reviewed and edited the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Availability of data and materials
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.