The relationship between pregnancy induced hypertension and congenital thrombophilia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between some thrombophilic parameters and pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH).

METHODS: The study took place at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perinatology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Turkey, between January 2002 and December 2002. We evaluated 202 patients.Patients were divided into 2 groups: control group comprised 102 normotensive patients >20 weeks of pregnancy without any medical or pregnancy related pathologies and the study group comprised 100 patients over 20 weeks of pregnancy with PIH. These hypertensive patients were divided into 6 sub-groups as follows: eclampsia, severe preeclampsia, preeclampsia, chronic hypertension plus superimposed preeclampsia, eclampsia, and hemolysis elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia (HELLP) syndrome.

RESULTS: In all cases, complete blood count, antithrombin III, protein S levels, factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin 20210 mutation, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 mutation and homocysteine levels were studied. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using SPSS version 11.0 program. In comparing the 2 groups we used Mann-Whitney U tests. In comparing the PIH subgroups we used Kruskal-Wallis tests. The levels of p<0.05 were accepted as statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Antithrombin III deficiency, protein C deficiency, hyperhomocysteinanemia were found to be associated with PIH groups. But protein S deficiency, and homozygote factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin 20210, MTHFR 677 mutation were not found to be related with PIH.