1. First trimester biochemistry at different maternal ages.
- Author
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Ranta, Jenni K., Marttala, Jaana, Laitinen, Päivi, Kultti, Johanna, Kauhanen, Olavi, Romppanen, Jarkko, Hämäläinen, Esa, Heinonen, Seppo, Pulkki, Kari, and Ryynänen, Markku
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FIRST trimester of pregnancy , *BIOCHEMISTRY , *CHORIONIC gonadotropins , *BLOOD proteins , *DOWN syndrome , *BIOMARKERS - Abstract
Background: The performance of first trimester biochemical screening was compared at different pregnancy weeks and maternal ages during 2002-2008 in a screened population of 76,949 women. Methods: The detection rates, as well as the median multiples of a median (MOMs) of free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (free β-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), were compared between completed gestational weeks 8-13 and between different maternal ages separated into 5-year groupings. Results: The number of singleton Down syndrome pregnancies was 221. The median age of the screened women was 30 years and the proportion of women aged ≥35 years 16.9%. The median age of the women with a Down syndrome pregnancy was 37 years. In women aged <35 years, the biochemical markers provided a detection rate of only 38.6%, whereas in women aged ≥35 years, the biochemical markers detected 82.7% of cases (p<0.01). Conclusions: Biochemical screening works best amongst women aged ≥35 years. For younger mothers aged <35 years, combined screening should be the method of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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