The relationship between vitamin A and E levels and the severity of disease and oxidative stress injury in patients with preeclampsia

Objective: To explore the correlation of vitamin A (VA) and vitamin E (VE) levels with preeclampsia (PE) severity and oxidative stress injury in patients.

Methods: Clinical data from 93 PE patients who established health records and delivered newborns at Xingtai People's Hospital between January 2017 and September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were categorized into mild a PE group (n = 51) and severe a PE group (n = 42) based on the severity of their condition, and also into an early-onset PE group (n = 38, gestational weeks < 34) and a late-onset PE group (n = 55, gestational weeks ≥ 34) by the timing of onset. Additionally, 50 healthy pregnant women undergoing routine prenatal check-ups during the same period were selected as the control group. Pearson's correlation was used to analyze the correlation of VA and VE levels with blood lipids, liver and kidney functions, and oxidative stress injury indices in PE patients. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to assess the value of serum VA and VE levels in evaluating early-onset PE and adverse pregnancy outcomes in PE patients.

Results: Pearson correlation analysis revealed that VA and VE levels in PE patients had negative correlation with total cholesterol (r = -3.426, -4.812), triglycerides (r = -3.862, -5.321), low-density lipoprotein (r = -4.065, -4.916), serum creatinine (r = -4.967, -5.437), blood urea nitrogen (r = -5.074, -4.653), uric acid (r = -4.716, -5.384), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) (r = -6.132, -5.876), myeloperoxidase (r = -6.812, -6.732), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (r = -5.862, -4.762), and reactive oxygen species levels (r = -3.716, -4.352, all P < 0.05), and they had a positive correlation with high-density lipoprotein (r = 5.132, 4.932), catalase (r = 4.165, 3.135), and superoxide dismutase levels (r = 5.621, 4.997, all P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values for predicting early-onset PE were 0.847 for VA, 0.891 for VE, and 0.908 for the combination. For predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes in PE, the AUC values were 0.897, 0.924, and 0.931, respectively.

Conclusions: Serum VA and VE levels are closely related to PE severity, lipid levels, renal function, AOPP, and other oxidative stress injury markers in PE patients. Combined detection of VA and VE levels can help assess early-onset PE and adverse pregnancy outcomes.