The concentration of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-a in the blood serum of tobacco smoking pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy

Exposition to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is an important risk factor for health of both mother and fetus. Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) plays role in immunosuppression, where it causes trophoblasts to be not recognized by the mother's organism as a foreign body. It initiates growth and vitality of fetus through influence on structure and functioning of placenta. Purpose — to estimate levels of PAPP-A in serum blood of smoking and non-smoking women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Methods. In total 4473 patients aged 18 to 47 years with singleton pregnancy were examined and performed the non-invasive maternal screening test in the first trimester. Biochemical measurements were fully automated by means of immunofluorescence method, using Delfia Xpress analyzers (Perkin Elmer). The software «Statistica v.10.0» was used for statistical analysis. Results. We observed that PAPP-A MoM value of the smoking woman was on average 16.0% lower in comparison with the results of the non-smoking woman of the same weight with the standard error of 3.5%. While 1kg weight gain decreased PAPP-A MoM value in both groups by 1.8% with the standard error of 0.1%. Conclusions. Smoking during pregnancy decreases PAPP-A MoM level by 16.0% on average in comparison with the results of a non-smoking woman of the same weight. Considering the relations between PAPP-A level and smoking, body weight and gestational age, all these factors should be taken into account for the correction of PAPP-A level and genetic risk assessment