Abstract
Indigenous Australians experience high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The origins of CVD may commence during pregnancy, yet few serum reference values for CVD biomarkers exist specific to the pregnancy period. The Gomeroi gaaynggal research project is a program that undertakes research and provides some health services to pregnant Indigenous women. Three hundred and ninety-nine non-fasting samples provided by the study participants (206 pregnancies and 175 women) have been used to construct reference intervals for CVD biomarkers during this critical time. A pragmatic design was used, in that women were not excluded for the presence of chronic or acute health states. Percentile bands for non-linear relationships were constructed according to the methods of Wright and Royston (2008), using the xriml package in StataIC 13.1. Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, cystatin-C and alkaline phosphatase increased as gestational age progressed, with little change seen in high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and γ glutamyl transferase. Values provided in the reference intervals are consistent with findings from other research projects. These reference intervals will form a basis with which future CVD biomarkers for pregnant Indigenous Australian women can be compared.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the most recent comprehensive health survey in Australia highlighted that this is true for IndigenousAustralians [1,2]
Pregnancies were included for analysis if women had at least one blood sample taken during their pregnancy and the participant was carrying a single fetus only
Pregnancies were included for analysis if women had at least one blood sample taken during their singleton pregnancy
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the most recent comprehensive health survey in Australia highlighted that this is true for IndigenousAustralians [1,2]. Guidelines for assessing CVD risk include obtaining lipid profiles [5], with inflammation markers providing information on the status of disease progression [6]. Monitoring for these biological markers is not routinely performed during pregnancy, as the levels of these markers change with gestational age, and no specific guidelines in relation to this exist. There is evidence to suggest that differences in lipid profiles during pregnancy exist due to ethnicity [7]. Lipid and inflammatory biomarker profiles during pregnancy for Indigenous Australian women remain unknown
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