| Abstract |
Background:Preeclampsia is a medical condition which arises in pregnancy and associated with high blood pressure and significant amount of protein in urine of pregnant women. It is a multisystem disease of pregnancy of unknown cause. The study was aimed to determine the association between serum Calcium and Magnesium levels with preeclampsia. Methods: A Case-Control study of two hundred primigravidae, singleton and second trimester pregnant women with preeclampsia (case) age-matched with two hundred normotensive pregnant women in the same trimester (controls), were recruited from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi and Ridge Regional Hospital, Accra, all in Ghana. Socio-demographics, blood pressure, urine protein, calcium and magnesium levels of both groups were collected. Results: Serum Calcium and Magnesium levels were significantly lower in the Case group than the controls (1.53 ± 0.90, 2.36± 0.17)and (0.56 ± 0.08, 0.88 ± 0.08) (p <0.001).The mean systolic, diastolic blood pressure and BMI were significantly higher in the case group than the control (p <0.001).The mean hemoglobin (Hb) was significantly lower among the cases (10.01 ± 0.73) than the controls (13.76 ± 0.80) (p <0.001). Prevalence of hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia and anaemia were(51.75%), (50.0%) and (42.5%) respectively. Conclusion: The current study reports a significant reduction of serum Calcium and Magnesium levels in preeclamptic women at the second trimester. Altered levels of serum calcium and magnesium may be important in the development of preeclampsia.
KEYWORDS: preeclampsia, calcium ions, magnesium ions, proteinuria. |
