Maternal serum dyslipidemia occurs early in pregnancy in women with mild but not severe preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether serum lipids at midgestation differ between normotensive women and women developing mild and severe preeclampsia STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study of 50 women with preeclampsia (mild = 26, severe = 24) and 100 women with uncomplicated term deliveries was conducted Maternal serum collected at 15-20 weeks was used to measure lipid profiles. RESULTS: The groups were similar with respect to demographic characteristics. Women with mild preeclampsia had higher triglyceride levels and a higher total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein ratio than control subjects (200 +/- 79 5 mg/dL vs 164 +/- 56.2 mg/dL; P = 02, and 3.31 +/- 1.06 mg/dL vs 2 91 +/- 0 59, P = .02) Women with severe preeclampsia had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein than control subjects (85.5 +/- 213 mg/dL vs 102 +/- 30.0 mg/dL; P = 04) and a less atherogenic lipid profile than control subjects. CONCLUSION: Midgestation dyslipidemia is associated with mild but not severe preeclampsia These findings may aid in elucidating the different pathologic processes between mild and severe preeclampsia.