Increased MMA concentration and body mass index are associated with spontaneous abortion in Brazilian women: a pilot study

• Published in: Clinica chimica acta 2010-03, Vol.411 (5-6), p.423
• Main Authors: Guerra-Shinohara, Elvira M, Pereira, Perla M, Kubota, Ananka M, Silva, Thaiomara A, Reis, Jucilene L, Miyashita, Gerson S, D'Almeida, Vânia, Allen, Robert H, Stabler, Sally P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abortion, Spontaneous - blood; Adult; Alleles; Body Mass Index; Brazil; DNA Mutational Analysis; Female; Genotype; Humans; Methylmalonic Acid - blood; Pilot Projects; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; Pregnancy; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 1873-3492
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2009.12.014

The pathophysiology of spontaneous abortion is complex and may involve the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. We evaluated the predictors of spontaneous abortion in Brazilian pregnant women. The effects of age, gestational age, body mass index (BMI), cigarette smoking, alcohol ingestion, use of multivitamins and concentrations of vitamins (folate, cobalamin and vitamin B6) and vitamin-dependent metabolites were analyzed. Study population included 100 healthy women that attended pre-natal care in 2 health centers of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in whom pregnancy outcome was known. Folate and cobalamin status was measured in blood specimens collected between 4 and 16 weeks. The genotypes for 8 gene polymorphisms were evaluated by PCR-RFLP. Eighty-eight women had normal pregnancy outcome (Group 1), while 12 experienced a miscarriage after blood collection (Group 2). Increased methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations were found in Group 2 (median [25th-75th percentile]=274 [149-425] nmol/l) relative to Group 1 (138 [98-185]) (P