A HOSPITAL-BASED STUDY ASSESSING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ELEVATED MATERNAL SERUM ΒETA HCG LEVELS AND HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Aim: The objective of the present study was to determine the association between elevated maternal serum β-hCG levels and HDP and role of serum β-hCG level as a diagnostic marker for early diagnosis of HDP.
Methods: This hospital-based observational research was carried out at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department for a duration of 12 months. One hundred pregnant women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and one hundred pregnant women with normal blood pressure made up the study's case group. Both groups had their serum β-hCG levels tested and compared.
Results: Among the 100 hypertensive women who participated in the research, 20 had gestational hypertension, 22 had non-severe preeclampsia, 40 had severe preeclampsia, and 18 had antepartum eclampsia. Mothers with normotension in the control group had an average age of 25.85 years, whereas those with hypertension in the research group had an average age of 24.48 years. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was seen between the normotensive moms' mean blood pressure of 110.40±10.15 mmHg and the SBP mothers' mean blood pressure of 150.70±18.72 mmHg. Both the normal moms' mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 75.5±5.50 mmHg and the hypertensive mothers' mean DBP of 105.66±12.48 mmHg were statistically significant (p<0.001). The amount of protein in the urine was found to vary significantly (p<0.001) between the two groups.
Conclusion: HDP cause considerable maternal and fetal death and morbidity, thus early identification and care may improve outcomes. Pregnancy-related hypertension was associated with greater serum β-hCG levels compared to normotensive women. The levels  are also greater in severe preeclampsia patients than non-severe and in primigravid hypertensive women than multigravida.