Serum androgen markers in preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether maternal serum levels of androgens are associated with preeclampsia in primigravid women. STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study of primigravid women with singleton pregnancies. Women diagnosed with preeclampsia (n = 15) were matched with normotensive controls (n = 30) for age and gestational age. Serum testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, estradiol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were measured before delivery. The study had 80% power to detect a 30% difference in mean testosterone concentration between cases and controls using a two-tailed test and α level of .05. The Student t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test and χ ² analysis of proportions were used for analysis. RESULTS: Cases and controls did not differ in maternal age, gestational age, body mass index, tobacco use or neonatal sex. As compared with normotensive controls, preeclamptic women exhibited no statistically significant differences in median levels of total testosterone, free androgen index, sex hormone binding globulin, estradiol or dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. CONCLUSION: Maternal serum levels of androgens do not exhibit an association with preeclampsia in primigravid women.