Assessment of oxidative and cardiovascular changes in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri Nigeria

Kelechi Chinaemenkwa Eziechile 1, Cyprian Emeka Oguji 1, *, Ikechukwu Johnpaul Chukwu 1, Kelvin Nkemakonam Orji 1, Melvina Nnedimma Ogakwu 2, Ifunanyachukwu Confidence Onuchukwu 3, Kelechi Victor Ihedi 4, Oluwapelumi Andrew Eseola 5, Prince Ikechukwu Onuoha 6, Sheudeen Abubakar Abiola 4, Chinazom Destiny Chima 7, Emmanuel Chisom Ani 1 and Tobenna Anthony Onyemeh 1

1 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria.
2 Department of Chemical Pathology, National Hospital, Abuja.
3 Department of Medical laboratory science, College of Medicine, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria.
4 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Nigeria.
5 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
6 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
7 Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2022, 06(02), 039–046.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2022.6.2.0156
Publication history: 
Received on 18 June 2022; revised on 23 July 2022; accepted on 22 July 2022
 
Abstract: 
Background: In pregnancy which is a physiological state that is accompanied by high energy demand, there is an increased intake and utilization of oxygen, hence augmented levels of oxidative changes that are associated with a lot of risks, one of which is cardiovascular diseases. This research aims to investigate the oxidative changes that occur among pregnant women by determining the levels of High Sensitivity c-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) and Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein (OxLDL) in first, second and third trimesters.
Materials and Methodology: A total of 60 pregnant women were recruited for the study. Twenty (20) pregnant women each from the three trimesters while Twenty (20) non-pregnant pubertal women without any chronic disease were used as control. 5ml of venous blood was collected from all subjects and analyzed for OxLDL and hs-CRP using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.
Results: Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein (OxLDL) showed mean variations across the groups but was not significant (P>0.05) but Pregnant women in their second trimester showed significant mean variation (P<0.05) (3716.11±599.86) in when compared to non-pregnant women (control) (4305.33±68.90) respectively. Pregnant women in the second trimester showed significantly decreased mean variation (P<0.05) in High sensitivity C-reactive protein (85.09 ±12.38) when compared to non-pregnant women (control) (219.45 ±64.61) respectively.
Conclusions: This study shows that there are increases in levels of OxLDL and a decrease in plasma concentration of hs-CRP which are more significant in the second trimester.
 
Keywords: 
Oxidative stress, Trimester; Cardiovascular; Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein; Pregnancy; High sensitive C-reactive protein
 
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