Oxidative Stress in Pregnant Women Between 12 and 20 Weeks of Gestation and Preterm Birth.
Tiffany A Moore, Kaeli Samson, Iman M Ahmad and 2 others
PMID 31917737WHAT IT FOUND
Oxygen radical markers in early pregnancy did not differ between women who delivered preterm and those who delivered at term.
Catalase activity was lower in preterm births, but this was a small secondary analysis.
Key findings
01No significant differences were found in the measured oxygen radical markers between term birth and preterm birth.
02In group comparisons, catalase activity, reduced glutathione, and the reduced-to-oxidized glutathione ratio were lower in women who delivered preterm.
03After adjusting for other biomarkers, only catalase activity remained statistically significant; a one-unit decrease in the log of catalase activity was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of .271 for preterm birth (95% CIs .104 to .703, p .007).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample from one Midwest tertiary perinatal center, so the women may not represent other populations. This was a secondary aim, and the power analysis was based on a different primary aim, so the study may not have had sufficient power to detect significance. Only 24 women had preterm birth in the biomarker comparison, which limits precision. Missing data occurred because of miscarriages, withdrawals, transfer of care, and limited sample volumes. The analysis did not separately examine medical risk categories or include other demographic factors in the regression model. Catalase was measured as enzyme activity, not actual protein levels, and other glutathione-system enzymes were not measured. Hydrogen peroxide was not measured directly, so the proposed mechanism remains speculative.
Declared interests
No author conflict of interest or funding declaration appears in the supplied text. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret lower catalase activity as a clinically usable preterm-birth risk marker or as evidence that antioxidant treatment prevents preterm birth. This was a small secondary analysis, and no intervention was tested.