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The intravascular mass of albumin during human pregnancy: a serial study in normal and diabetic women
Author(s) -
Whittaker Paul G.,
Lind Tom
Publication year - 1993
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.1471-0528.1993.tb15315.x
Subject(s) - albumin , gestation , medicine , pregnancy , endocrinology , prospective cohort study , diabetes mellitus , serum albumin , biology , genetics
Objective To quantify the changes in serum albumin during human pregnancy. Design Longitudinal prospective study. Setting Before conception and antenatal clinic. Subjects Sixty‐nine normal women and 23 women with Type 1 diabetes. Interventions Administration of Evans' blue dye and collection of serum samples. Main outcome measures Albumin concentration, plasma volume and intravascular mass of albumin Results In normal subjects serum albumin concentration showed a significant decrease of 1.9 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.9) g/l by 7 weeks gestation with a further 8.2 (95% CI 7.5 to 8.9) g/l decrease by 36 weeks gestation, an overall change of 22%. Plasma volume first increased significantly by 190 (95% CI 105 to 275) ml between 7 and 12 weeks, with a further increase of 1003 (95% CI 871 to 1135) ml between 12 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, a change of 53%. The intravascular mass of albumin showed no change between non‐pregnant, 7 and 12 week values but there was a significant rise of 19.5 (95% CI 15.1 to 23.9) g between 12 and 28 weeks of gestation, an overall increase of 19%. Diabetic subjects showed similar changes. Conclusions Rather than simply reflecting plasma volume dilution, the changes in serum albumin imply alterations in albumin metabolism during pregnancy.