High prevalence of the prothrombin gene mutation in women with intrauterine growth retardation, abruptio placentae and second trimester loss

Background. It has been reported recently that obstetric complications are associated with thrombophilias. Our objective was to investigate the associ ation between pregnancy complications and the guanine 20210 adenine (G20210 A) mutation in prothrombin gene. Methods. Two hundred and twenty-two women (study group) with obstetric comp lications were tested for the prothrombin mutation. Indications for testing were: severe preeclampsia, mild preeclampsia, intrauterine growth retardat ion, severe abruptio placentae, unexplained stillbirth, second trimester lo ss, and three or more consecutive spontaneous abortions. We also tested 156 healthy women who had at least one normal pregnancy and comprised the cont rol group. Results. Demographic data of the study and control groups were similar. Twe nty-eight women of the study group (13%) were found to be heterozygous carr iers of the 20210 variant of the prothrombin gene compared to five (3.2%) o f the control group, p = 0.001, odds ratio (OR) 2.9; 95% confidence interva l (CI) 1.3-6.5. Compared to the control women, the prothrombin gene mutatio n was significantly more prevalent in women with IUGR, abruptio placentae, and second trimester loss but not in women with mild or severe preeclampsia , stillbirth and habitual abortion. Conclusions. Our data demonstrate that the mutation in the prothrombin gene is associated with specific pregnancy complications.