Background
and Objective: Preeclampsia
is potentially life-threatening and as a dangerous complication of pregnancy. This
study was performed to assess the relationship between serum zinc level and
preeclampsia.     Materials
and Methods: This analytical and prospective study was conducted on 1033
pregnant women who referred to prenatal clinics of Tehran city. Demographic
questionnaire and reproductive history was completed and also a venous blood
sample was taken from all the pregnant women upon entry. Preeclampsia
was defined as blood pressure equal or more than 140/90 mmHg along with
proteinuria after 20th week of pregnancy. Data was analyzed using SPSS16
software and independent samples t-test.   Results: The
incidence of preeclampsia was 1.9 %. Mean serum zinc level was 116.6±95.7
µg/dl. In 27.4% of samples, the zinc serum level was lower than 51µg/dl and the
zinc serum level of 72.6% of samples was at normal range. The independent
samples t-test showed that there was a significant relationship between
maternal serum zinc level and preeclampsia as the mean serum zinc level in
pregnant women with preeclampsia was lower than normal pregnant women.   Conclusion: The results showed that serum zinc
level
is associated
with
preeclampsia.