Evaluation of Maternal Ischemia-Modified Albumin Levels during Pregnancy and Their Effect on Fetal Birth Weight

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of maternal ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels on pregnancy-related complications, fetal growth, and development over time. Materials and Methods: The prospective longitudinal and single-center study included 43 pregnant women ages 18 to 43. Routine pregnancy follow-up began at the first antenatal examination for all pregnant women before 14 weeks gestation, with IMA levels measured during the first, second, and third trimesters. The albumin cobalt binding test was used to determine the amount of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA). The patients' medical, sociodemographic, and nutritional data were analyzed. The primary outcome was to investigate how changes in maternal ischemia affected albumin levels during pregnancy and the relationship between these changes and newborn weight. Results: This study included 43 cases with a mean age of 28.5 ± 5.2 years and a mean gestation period of 39.2 ± 1.3 weeks. The mean IMA levels for cases in the first trimester, second trimester, and third trimester were 0.53 ± 0.06, 0.64 ± 0.11, and 0.64 ± 0.06, respectively. The second and third trimesters showed significantly higher levels of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) than the first trimester (p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in IMA levels between the second and third trimesters (p = 1.000; p > 0.05). There was no statistically significant correlation between fetal birth and percentage changes in IMA measurements between the first and second trimesters, the first and third trimesters, or the second and third trimesters (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study determined that maternal ischemia-modified albumin levels during pregnancy did not correlate with fetal birth weight. Our findings revealed that age, sociodemographic changes, BMI, weight gain, and pregnancy complications had no effect on the change in IMA levels during pregnancy. We believe that this result will serve as a benchmark for future studies on IMA levels during pregnancy.

Keywords: fetal birth weight; ischemia-modified albumin; oxidative stress.

Figure 1

Relationship between gestational age and II–III trimester IMA percentage change (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.306).