229. Hair cortisol concentration and reported anxiety are elevated in preeclampsia

Abstract

Introduction While some studies argue that maternal stress during pregnancy is a risk-factor for preeclampsia (PE), other studies do not support this hypothesis. These studies did not incorporated physiological stress measures and recall bias may explain their results. Objective To investigate whether maternal stress during pregnancy, as measured by questionnaires and cortisol concentrations in hair, differ between a group of women with early onset PE, late onset PE and uncomplicated pregnancies. Methods This multicentre case-controlled study included women with early-onset PE ( 34 wks gestation; n = 18), and uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 26). At admission in the hospital (early-onset PE and late-onset PE), or at term pregnancy (controls), mothers filled out stress and anxiety questionnaires. Participants also donated a strand of hair at admission, not influenced by corticosteroid administration. The average hair growth rate is 1 cm a month, with the hair closest to the scalp representing the most recent part of pregnancy. Cortisol concentration in hair were analyzed in three periods: 3 months before conception (preconception), 0–3 months of pregnancy (1st trimester) and 3–6 months pregnancy (2nd trimester). Results ANOVA’s showed that reported anxiety levels were higher in women with preeclampsia compared to the controls (p Discussion These results indicate that measures of psychosocial anxiety and physiological stress differ between early-onset PE, comparing to late-onset PE and uncomplicated pregnancies. Late-onset PE might be associated with a higher level of preconceptional cortisol concentration, although these results were underpowered, cortisol concentrations may be utilized to assess the differentiation between early-onset and late-onset PE.