BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 1 -- Low maternal cholesterol early in pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm delivery among otherwise low-risk white women, researchers found.
Total serum cholesterol below the 10th percentile in the second trimester was the strongest predictor of preterm delivery in low-risk mothers, reported Maximilian Muenke, M.D., of the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health here, and colleagues in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The association was almost entirely among white women (odds ratio 5.63, P<0.0001), with no significant effect among black women (OR 0.81, P=0.79).
Because risk was also elevated for high maternal serum cholesterol in this and previous studies, "the concept of an optimal range for maternal serum cholesterol during pregnancy may have merit," the researchers wrote.
