ISSN:
1471-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
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 albuminResults 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.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1993.tb15315.x
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