Blood Lead, Calcium, and Phosphorus in Women With Preeclampsia in Edo State, Nigeria

The authors investigated the effect of blood lead (BPb) and its relationship with calcium and phosphorus in the development of preeclampsia in Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 59 preclamptics, 150 normal pregnant, and 122 nonpregnant women. Blood lead and serum Ca and P were determined. Blood lead was significantly higher (p < .001), whereas serum Ca and P were significantly lower (p < .001) in preclamptics than in normal pregnant women (60.2 +/- 12.8 vs 26.3 +/- 8.0 mu g/dL for Pb, 1.39 +/- 0.33 vs 2.03 +/- 0.22 mmol/L for Ca, and 0.76 +/- 0.10 vs 0.99 +/- 0.13 mmol/L for P, respectively). There was significant increase (p < .05) in BPb and decreases (p < .01) in serum Ca and P in pregnant women than in nonpregnant women (35.7 +/- 18.0 vs 13.1 +/- 6.4 mu g/dL for Pb, 1.85 +/- 0.33 vs 2.33 +/- 0.20 mmol/L for Ca, and 0.93 +/- 0.38 vs 1.24 +/- 0.26 mmol/L for P). Also, BPb was negatively correlated with serum Ca and, P, and positively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures in pregnancy (r = -.804 for Ca, r = -.728 for P, r = .908 for SBP, and r = .842 for DBP) and preeclampsia (p < .01). It appears that increase in blood lead, which parallels decreases in serum calcium and phosphorus, may be related to the development and progression of preeclampsia in this environment.