Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background:Preeclampsia is characterized as the development of hypertension and either odema or proteinuria in previously normotensive women after 20 weeks of gestation. The present study was conducted to determine oxidative stress in pregnant women. Materials & Methods:74 pregnant womenwere divided two groups of patients. Group I had 37 pregnant cases with pre-eclampsia, while group II featured 37 healthy cases of pregnancy. Plasma was isolated and examined for MDA, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Results: Group I had pre- eclampsia and group II had normotensive patients. Each group comprised of 37 subjects. The mean gestational age in group I was 32.4 weeks and in group II was 33.1 weeks. The mean parity in group I was 2.3 and in group II was 2.5. The mean BMI in group I was 31.4 kg/m2 and 30.5 kg/m2 in group II. The difference was non- significant (P> 0.05). The mean vitamin C level in group I was 0.34 mg/dl and in group II was 2.76 mg/dl. The mean vitamin E level in group I was 0.31 mg/dl and in group II was 0.98 mg/dl. The mean MDA level was 12.2 nmol/ml in group I and 4.7 nmol/ml in group II. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion:Oxidative stress is indicated by greater MDA levels and lower vitamin C and E levels in pre-eclamptic patients.