Elevations Of Serum Total Cholesterol Differ By Trimester In Pregnant Women At Chitungwiza Central Hospital Ante-Natal Clinic In Zimbabwe

Abstract A physiological increase in serum total cholesterol levels occurs during pregnancy. This hypercholesterolaemia may lead to metabolic disorders in the foetus and the mother. Little information is available on pregnancy-induced lipid metabolism disturbances in the Zimbabwe setting. A cross-sectional study of total serum cholesterol levels in pregnant women who attended Chitungwiza Central Hospital Antenatal Clinic between 24 January 2013 and 14 February 2013 was carried out. All recruited women were either in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Samples were analysed using a BS120 Chemistry Analyser. The paired t test proportion was used to test the hypothesis at 5 significance level.There were a significant proportion of women with moderately elevated total serum cholesterol compared to pregnant women reference ranges but it could not be determined whether the elevations were pathological or physiological hence further studies are required to determine whether this could develop into overt hypercholesterolaemia post- partum.Of significance in this study the third trimester women had significantly higher mean total cholesterol levels compared to the second trimester women p value 0.0033 p 0.05.