Early pregnancy lipid concentrations and spontaneous preterm birth.

Objective: Women who deliver preterm infants may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, perhaps related to dyslipidemia.

Study Design: In a nested case control study of women with spontaneous preterm birth, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides were evaluated. Lipid concentrations and gestational changes, as well as risk for preterm birth, were evaluated in women who delivered <34 (n = 23), >or=34-<37 (n = 67), and >or=37 weeks (n = 199).

Results: High cholesterol or triglycerides or=34-<37 weeks, respectively. Overweight women who delivered <34 weeks had particularly elevated early pregnancy concentrations of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein; lean women with moderate preterm birth had elevated triglycerides. There was a reduced triglyceride response in the first half of pregnancy among women who delivered <34 weeks.

Conclusion: Our results indicate the presence of dyslipidemia in women with spontaneous preterm birth.