Background and objective: Oxidative stress is believed to play a role in the development of preeclampsia (PE). It is known that an increased cystatin C level is also associated with PE. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress parameters and cystatin C levels in patients with severe PE.
Material and methods: Forty-four patients with severe PE and 40 healthy pregnant women were recruited for the study. All study subjects were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n=44) consisted of patients with severe PE, and group 2 (n=40) included healthy pregnant subjects. Blood samples were obtained from all subjects in order to measure the cystatin C level, total antioxidant status, and total oxidant status. The oxidative stress index was calculated.
Results: The group 1 had significantly higher cystatin C, total oxidant status, oxidative stress index levels and lower total antioxidant status level as compared with the group 2 (P=0.001, P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.036, respectively). The serum cystatin C level was significantly correlated with the oxidative stress index (r=0.609, P<0.001).
Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that both oxidative stress and cystatin C levels were increased in patients with PE, and the increased cystatin C levels seem to be a consequence of oxidative stress.