Serum levels of alpha-tocopherol in hypertensive pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE

Assess alpha-tocopherol serum levels in a population of pregnant women affected by different hypertensive disorders.

METHODS

Alpha-tocopherol serum levels were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography in 177 third-trimester pregnant women: 63 affected by gestational hypertension, 69 by preeclampsia, 26 by chronic hypertension, and 19 normotensive controls. In 39 out of the 158 hypertensive patients, pregnancy was complicated by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).

RESULTS

Alpha-tocopherol serum levels did not show any significant difference among gestational hypertensive, preeclamptic, chronic hypertensive patients, and controls. A significant reduction of alpha-tocopherol levels was observed when we compared patients with IUGR and patients with a normally grown fetus. Such significant reduction was maintained when we analyzed the different classes of hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

The reduction of antioxidant nutrients and, in particular, of alpha-tocopherol is not a feature of preeclampsia and seems better correlated with the presence of placental insufficiency, rather than maternal disease.