Abstract:
Background: In Sri Lanka, pregnancy-related hypertension, notably preeclampsia, is a prominent
health concern, posing substantial risks to maternal and fetal well-being.
Objective: To determine the distribution patterns of serum creatinine in normal pregnant women
and women diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension
Methods: This is a population based, analytical, cross-sectional study. In this study, 34 normal
pregnant women (group 1) and 34 pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (group-
2; 140/90 mmHg on two or more occasion and without proteinuria) were enlisted. Serum
creatinine levels were estimated using colorimetric Jaffe alkaline picric acid kinetic method. Pre-
pregnancy weight and height measurements were taken from the clinical records and the pre-
pregnancy BMI values of the women were calculated. Mean serum creatinine levels were
compared between group 1 and group 2 by independent sample t-test.
Results: The serum creatinine level ranged from 0.38-1.14 mg/dL among the total of 68 women.
Mean serum creatinine levels of group 1 and group 2 women were 0.53±0.06 and 0.76±0.17
mg/dL, respectively. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001) in the mean serum creatinine
levels was observed between the two groups of the pregnant women. The selected women were
classified into underweight (<18.5 kg/m2
), normal (18.5-24.9 kg/m2
), overweight (25.0-29.9
kg/m2
), obese (30.0-39.9 kg/m2
) and extremely obese (>40.0 kg/m2
). Majority of the women in
group 1, exhibited normal BMI mean±SD (21.95±2.10 kg/m2
) while those in group 2 were
overweight (26.881.05 kg/m2
) and the differences in mean serum creatinine levels within these
BMI groups were not differ significantly (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Our study highlights a significant elevation in serum creatinine level among
individuals with pregnancy induced hypertension than the normotensive group suggesting its
potential utility as a marker for early detection of pre-eclampsia-like pregnancy-induced
hypertensive diseases.
