Association between plasma growth differentiation factor 15 levels and pre-eclampsia in China.

Background: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a stress response protein and is related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to investigate the association between GDF-15 and pre-eclampsia (PE).

Method: The study involved 299 pregnant women, out of which 236 had normal pregnancies, while 63 participants had PE. Maternal serum levels of GDF-15 were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and then translated into multiple of median (MOM) to avoid the influence of gestational week at blood sampling. Logistic models were performed to estimate the association between GDF-15 MOM and PE, presenting as odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: MOM of GDF-15 in PE participants was higher compared with controls (1.588 vs. 1.000,  < 0.001). In the logistic model, pregnant women with higher MOM of GDF-15 (>1) had a 4.74-fold (95% CI = 2.23-10.08,  < 0.001) increased risk of PE, adjusted by age, preconceptional body mass index, gravidity, and parity.

Conclusions: These results demonstrated that higher levels of serum GDF-15 were associated with PE. GDF-15 may serve as a biomarker for diagnosing PE.