Association of the maternal serum albumin level with fetal growth and fetal growth restriction in term-born singletons: a prospective cohort study

Effect of maternal serum albumin level on birthweight and gestational age: an analysis of 39200 singleton newborns

Background

Serum albumin plays a pivotal role in regulating plasma oncotic pressure and modulating fluid distribution among various body compartments. Previous research examining the association between maternal serum albumin levels and fetal growth yielded limited and inconclusive findings. Therefore, the specific influence of serum albumin on fetal growth remains poorly understood and warrants further investigation.

Methods

A retrospective study involved 39200 women who had a singleton live birth at a tertiary-care academic medical center during the period from January 2017 to December 2020. Women were categorized into four groups according to the quartile of albumin concentration during early pregnancy: Q1 group, ≤41.0 g/L; Q2 group, 41.1-42.6 g/L; Q3 group, 42.7-44.3 g/L and Q4 group, >44.3 g/L. The main outcome measures were mid-term estimated fetal weight, birthweight and gestational age. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analysis were performed to detect the independent effect of maternal serum albumin level on fetal growth after adjusting for important confounding variables.

Results

In the crude analysis, a significant inverse correlation was found between early pregnancy maternal serum albumin levels and fetal growth status, including mid-term ultrasound measurements, mid-term estimated fetal weight, birthweight, and gestational age. After adjustment for a number of confounding factors, mid-term estimated fetal weight, birthweight, and birth height decreased significantly with increasing albumin levels. Compared to the Q2 group, the Q4 group had higher rates of preterm birth (aOR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.01-1.34), small-for-gestational-age (aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.45) and low birthweight (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.18-1.69), and lower rate of large-for-gestational-age (aOR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.94). Moreover, to achieve the optimal neonatal outcome, women with higher early pregnancy albumin levels required a greater reduction in albumin levels in later pregnancy stages.

Conclusions

A higher maternal serum albumin level during early pregnancy was associated with poor fetal growth, with the detrimental effects becoming apparent as early as the mid-gestation period. These findings provided vital information for clinicians to predict fetal growth status and identify cases with a high risk of adverse neonatal outcomes early on.

Do maternal albumin levels affect post-operative complications after cesarean delivery?

BACKGROUND

This study explored the correlation between maternal serum albumin levels prior to elective cesarean delivery (CD) and postoperative complications.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included women admitted for elective CD at term to our tertiary referral center, during the years 2016-2018. Blood samples were collected during the preoperative admission. Information collected included maternal demographics, pregnancy and postoperative complications. Data between patients with preoperative serum albumin levels < 3.3 g/dL or ≥ 3.3 g/dL were compared.

RESULTS

Among 796 women admitted for an elective CD, 537 met the inclusion criteria. There were 250 (46.6%) women in the low albumin level group (< 3.3 g/dL) and 287 (53.4%) with serum albumin level ≥ 3.3 g/dL. Patients with serum albumin ≥ 3.3 g/dL had increased rates of surgical site infection (SSI) (5.6% vs. 1.6% respectively; p = 0.02), need for antibiotics during the post-partum period (10.8% vs 3.2%, respectively; p = 0.001), surgical intervention (2.1% vs. 0%, respectively; p = 0.03) and higher rate of rehospitalization (5.2% vs. 0.4%, respectively; p = 0.001). Multivariant analysis showed that albumin level ≥ 3.3 g/dL was independently associated with composite postoperative adverse maternal outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

High serum albumin levels among women undergoing CD, might be associated with abnormal postoperative outcomes. Larger prospective studies, with a heterogenous population are needed to validate these observations.