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Low second trimester maternal serum unconjugated oestriol in pregnancies with Down's syndrome
Author(s) -
CANICK J. A.,
KNIGHT G. J.,
PALOMAK G. E.,
HADDOW J. E.,
CUCKLE H. S.,
WALD N. J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb06601.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , estriol , obstetrics , second trimester , gestational age , down syndrome , gestation , fetus , endocrinology , hormone , biology , genetics , psychiatry
Summary. Second trimester maternal serum unconjugated oestriol levels were measured in the stored serum samples from 22 pregnancies associated with Down's syndrome and 110 unaffected control pregnancies, matched for maternal age, gestational age, duration of storage of the serum sample, smoking habits and maternal weight. The serum unconjugated oestriol level of each affected pregnancy was expressed as a multiple of the median (MoM) of its five matched controls. The unconjugated oestriol levels were significantly lower in the affected pregnancies than in the unaffected pregnancies; the median MoM was 0·79 (P<0·05). This association between low serum unconjugated oestriol and fetal Down's syndrome early in pregnancy raises the possibility that serum unconjugated oestriol measurement may be added to maternal age and alpha‐fetoprotein measurement in the antenatal screening for Down's syndrome.