Risk assessment of hypertensive and metabolic disorders in pregnant women with COVID-19

According to international research data, COVID-19 increases the risk of developing hypertensive and metabolic disorders. Aim of the study was to assess the risks of hypertensive and metabolic disorders in pregnant women with COVID-19 and to identify potential markers of these conditions. Material and methods. The study involved 265 pregnant women, infected in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, and uninfected with COVID-19, from 2020 to 2022. Spectrophotometric methods were used to evaluate blood level of glucose, total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides. ELISA was used to measure content of oxidized LDL and apolipoprotein B (apo B). Results. Gestational arterial hypertension (GAH) developed more frequently in women with COVID-19 infected in the second trimester compared to those infected in the third trimester (15.7 and 6.1 % cases, respectively, p = 0.044). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was more commonly diagnosed in pregnant women with COVID-19 than in those uninfected (17.2 and 4.0 % cases, respectively, p = 0.015), particularly in those infected in the second and third trimesters (17.6 and 18.9 %, respectively). Pregnant women with COVID-19 showed an increase in glucose levels by 1.14 times (p = 0.001), oxidized LDL by 1.24 times (p = 0.042), and apo B protein by 1.14 times (p = 0.025) in blood serum. Conclusions. Infection with COVID-19 in the second trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of GAH by 2.56 times, and in the second and third trimesters, the risk of GDM by 4.3 times. Increase of glucose, oxidized LDL, and apo B content in blood serum may have prognostic significance in the development of hypertensive disorders.

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