Androgen levels are associated with blood pressure in pregnant women after term

Abstract

To assess possible associations between androgen, estrogen and insulin levels and blood pressure in pregnant women after term, compared with the effect of other well-known factors. Cross-sectional retrospective study. University Hospital, Trondheim region. Four hundred and eighty-nine post-term women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Blood pressure measurements and fasting serum samples drawn one week beyond the estimated day of delivery (defined as 41(+2) weeks). Blood pressure, maternal age, body mass index, parity, smoking habits and serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstendione, free testosterone index, estradiol, estriol, progesterone, 17-hydroxy-progesterone and insulin. In univariate linear regression analyses, body mass index, androstendione, free testosterone index and insulin were positively associated and parity was negatively associated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In multivariate linear regression analyses, systolic blood pressure was positively associated with body mass index and free testosterone index, but negatively associated with parity and 17-hydroxy-progesterone levels, while diastolic blood pressure was positively associated with age and free testosterone index, but negatively associated with parity and 17-hydroxy-progesterone levels. Testosterone may increase blood pressure in pregnant women, while 17-hydroxy-progesterone may have the opposite effect.