Association Between Oxidative Stress and Anaemia in Pregnancy

Abstract

Background: Oxidative stress is the topic of interest for most of the researches, as it is associated with the pathogenesis of a number of disorders. Pregnancy though a natural phenomenon is associated with increased susceptibility to oxidative stress. Also, pregnant women are more vulnerable to the nutritional deficiency disorders, most common being iron deficiency anemia. Both oxidative stress and anemia have become a potential threat to both mother and fetus. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine the association of oxidative stress with anemia in pregnancy. Methods: This study was conducted in Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh with inclusion of 25 healthy pregnant (Control) and 50 anemic pregnant women. Blood samples were collected and the parameters like Hemoglobin (Hb), malondialdehyde (MDA), Ferritin reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), Total peroxide (TP) and Oxidative stress index (OSI) were estimated. Results: We found that the levels of Hb and FRAP were significantly low and that of MDA, TP and OSI were significantly higher in the anemic pregnant women. Hb was positively correlated with FRAP but negatively with MDA, TP and OSI. The results were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: Anemia when occurs in disturbs the oxidant- antioxidant balance which further adds to the pre-existing pro-oxidant cellular environment induced by pregnancy. Therefore, in order to prevent both maternal and fetal complications further evaluations are needed.