Severe preeclampsia is associated with high inhibin A levels and normal leptin levels at 7 to 13 weeks into pregnancy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal serum inhibin A and leptin concentrations changed in the first trimester of pregnancy in patients in whom severe preeclampsia subsequently developed.

Study Design: Blood samples were collected prospectively from patients during the first trimester of prenatal care. Patients in whom severe preeclampsia with no evidence of glucose intolerance or gestational diabetes mellitus subsequently developed were identified (study group, 30 patients) and matched with control subjects in a 1:2 ratio (control group, 60 patients). Inhibin A and leptin concentrations were determined in these first-trimester serum samples for both the study and control groups.

Results: Leptin levels were correlated highly with body mass index in both groups but were not correlated with the subsequent onset of preeclampsia. Serum inhibin A concentrations were significantly higher in women in whom preeclampsia subsequently developed than in women in whom it did not. With a specific cutoff value, the estimated odds for severe preeclampsia were almost five times higher in women with high inhibin A concentrations than in women with normal levels (odds ratio, 4.93; 95% CI, 1.83, 13.28).

Conclusion: High serum inhibin A levels in the first trimester of pregnancy could be used as an early risk marker for preeclampsia.