Maternal and cord serum lipid profiles of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome

Lipid metabolism has an important role in fetal development during the late stage of gestation, including growth and fat accretion in utero, increasing amniotic fluid lecithin levels with maturation of pulmonary function and changes in the levels of minor phospholipids in amniotic fluid.The aim of this study was to compare the maternal and cord lipid profiles of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and a control group without RDS.The study groups consisted of 166 preterm infants with gestational ages ranging from 25 to 36 weeks, and birth weights ranging from 748 to 2495 g. Of these infants, 57 developed RDS and 109 infants served as controls. The infants were divided into four gestational age groups (34 to 36, 31 to 33, 28 to 30 and 25 to 27 weeks). Stepwise linear regression analyses were performed to determine independent contribution of each lipid parameter of the infants to their characteristics and mothers' variables.Total cholesterol, high-density and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterols levels were lower in infants with RDS and in their mothers than in controls, and maternal lipid profile was related to those of their infants (P0.05). Pregravid body mass index (BMI) was related to triglyceride levels of the infants, and weight gain during pregnancy was related to LDL cholesterol levels of the infants (P0.05).RDS is accompanied with lipid alteration in infants and their mothers. Pregravid BMI and weight gain during pregnancy might have a prognostic significance in the prediction of respiratory distress in early neonatal period.