Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Pre-eclampsia, the most common hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, affects around 5% of all first-time mothers, and is an important cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increased serum ferritin level in pre-eclampsia, decreasing the antioxidant capacity of serum and exacerbating lipid peroxidation and endothelial-cell injury leads to vascular damage which further causes development of preeclampsia. The study was designed to evaluate the association of elevated serum ferritin level and preeclampsia. The knowledge of which expected to be used for prevention of preeclampsia and its complications. A case control study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMH), Matuail, Dhaka, among pregnant women at 32-38 weeks of gestation diagnosed as preeclampsia (cases) and without preeclampsia. Preeclampsia was diagnosed by measuring blood pressure, proteinuria or presence of severe symptoms. Serum ferritin level was measured. Data was collected and descriptive and inferential analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22.0. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Mean iron (μg/dL) of case (135.76±13.53) and control (82.84±11.79). Mean serum ferritin level among case (127.75±11.77) and control (24.70±2.89). The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) between two groups. Patients having serum ferritin level >120 ng/ml increased 4.83 times more chance to develop preeclampsia with 95% CI 2.92-8.00%. In multivariate regression analysis a subject with high ferritin level had 1.302 times significantly associated to developed preeclampsia with 95.0% C.I. 0.056 to 1.627%. Significant positive Pearson’s correlation observed between serum ferritin level and systolic blood pressure (r=0.820, p=0.001). In this study, finding conveyed that patients with preeclampsia have higher serum ferritin levels in comparison with normal pregnant women. Elevated serum ferritin is found associated to develop preeclampsia.