Lesser Weeks of Gestation Correlated with Levels of Cortisol in Ghanaian Women with Preeclampsia, Case-control Study

Abstract

Following the different kinds of treatment of Preeclampsia (PE) that have challenged clinical regimens, it seems expedient to find ways of preventing PE. Cortisol might be the best factor and marker to provide the baseline information, hence the focus. The aim was to determine cortisol levels in preeclampsia. STROBE consensus checklist was utilized for this case-control study. Clinical information on 125 subjects (50 controls, 30 PE, 50 pregnant normotensive; with 5 lost by attrition) was obtained after ethical consideration (MS-Et/M.3 – P.3.2/2013 – 2014) and informed consent. Full blood count, lipid profile, and cortisol levels were analyzed after venipuncture and blood processing from subjects. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze data. The mean cortisol level in PE was 149.37ng/mL and this was statistically significant when compared with non-pregnant normotensive (controls) only (p = 0.004); and likewise, with both pregnant normotensive and controls (p = 0.008). During cortisol stratification, the odds ratio between PE and controls was 0.0927 (p = 0.0001) while the odds between pregnant normotensives and controls was 0.0374 (p < 0.0001). A significant finding was seen between cortisol levels and lesser gestational weeks. The fewer the weeks of gestation, the higher the cortisol level of the preeclamptic patient.