Newborn birth weight correlates with placental zinc, umbilical insulin-like growth factor I, and leptin levels in preeclampsia

Background. The aim of the present study was to determine whether newborn birth weights were associated with insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), zinc, and leptin in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. Methods. This study was done cross-sectionally and included 15 women with moderate preeclampsia (PE group) and 11 normotensive pregnant women (NT group) of similar gestational age. Maternal and umbilical cord serum levels of zinc, IGF-I, IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), leptin, and placental zinc were assessed in each group. Results. As compared with the NT group, the PE group had significantly (p<0.05) lower newborn birth weight [3.33 (3.11-3.55) vs. 2.80 (2.40-3.17) kg], maternal IGF-I [303 (276-364) vs. 198 (153-244) ng/mL], and umbilical IGF-I [87 (71-126) vs. 44 (26-98) ng/mL]. In addition, low IGFBP-3 and high IGFBP-1 were observed in the PE group. In the PE group, birth weight correlated positively with placental zinc (rho=0.56, p=0.04), maternal IGF-I (rho=0.76, p=0.004), umbilical cord IGF-I (rho=0.75, p=0.005), and umbilical cord leptin (rho=0.61, p=0.02) levels. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that among these variables, umbilical IGF-I was the major predictor of birth weight. In the NT group, birth weight did not correlate with any of these variables. Conclusions. The present study indicates that moderate preeclampsia is associated with low newborn birth weight, IGF-I, IGFBP-3, and high IGFBP-1 without significant changes in zinc and leptin levels. In addition, umbilical IGF-I was the major predictor of newborn birth weight. (C) 2002 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.