Genetic Polymorphisms Implicated in Major Pregnancy Complications: a Review

• Published in: Folia Medica Vol. 62; no. 2; pp. 230 - 237
• Main Authors: Dryllis, Georgios, Liakou, Panagiota, Politou, Marianna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Plovdiv MEDICAL UNIVERSITY- PLOVDIV 30.06.2020; Pensoft Publishers
• Subjects: Birth weight; Blood pressure; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell growth; Cytokines; Fetuses; Gene expression; genetic polymorphisms; Gestational diabetes; Growth factors; Health care; Hypertension; Insulin; intra; Mutation; Obstetrics; Placenta; Placental abruption; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy complications; Premature labor; Science; Thrombosis
• ISSN: 0204-8043; 1314-2143
• DOI: 10.3897/folmed.62.e47831

Pregnancy short- or long-term complications may involve the mother's health, the fetus's health, or both. A systematic literature review was performed, including studies up to October 2018 from Medline (PubMed), Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The following inclusion criteria were applied: studies published until 2018 concerning the genetic background of pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, pregnancy loss, endometrial death, placental abruption, premature labor, and intrauterine growth retardation which may render pregnancy a high risk condition. We identified 164 articles that met the inclusion criteria and reviewed and analyzed them. The results so far are contradictory and the pathogenicity of these pregnancy complications remains unclear. For most of the polymorphisms studied so far, data refer to small studies size but research is on-going. The identification of genetic polymorphisms with strong correlations with certain pregnancy complications could provide us with useful tools which could be incorporated in diagnostic algorithms that could facilitate early detection and treatment of major pregnancy complications.