To investigate the serum homocysteine concentrations in healthy pregnant women during different gestation periods and to establish the reference ranges.

A total of 1 123 healthy pregnant women who underwent regular prenatal care and got full term in labor in our hospital from March 2017 to March 2018 were enrolled, including 174 cases in the first trimester, 500 cases in the second trimester, and 449 cases in the third trimester, and 87 healthy women without pregnancy as controls. The serum homocysteine concentration was detected by enzymatic cycling assay and was statistically analyzed.

The serum Hcy concentration in the control group was (8.52±3.92) μmol/L (95% reference range 4.60-12.44 μmol/L), (6.31±2.84) μmol/L (95% reference range 3.47-9.15 μmol/L) in the first trimester group, (6.01±2.96) μmol/L (95% reference range 3.05-8.97 μmol/L) in the second trimester group, and (7.76±3.65) μmol/L (95% reference range 4.11-11.41 μmol/L) in the third trimester group. The variance analysis showed that the difference of Hcy concentrations in different gestation periods was statistically significant (F=104.782, P<0.001). Multiple comparison Bonferroni test showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the Hcy concentration between the first trimester group and the second trimester group (P>0.05), there were statistically significant differences in the Hcy concentration between the third trimester group and the first trimester group and between the third trimester group and the second trimester group (bothP<0.05), and there were statistically significant differences in the Hcy concentration between the first trimester group, the second trimester group, the third trimester group, and the control group (allP<0.05). Linear correlation analysis showed that there were positive correlations between the serum Hcy concentration of pregnant women and their age and gestational age atP=0.01 level (bilateral) (r=0.090, 0.046).

There was statistcal significance in the serum Hcy concentration in healthy pregnant women during different gestation periods, and the establishment of the reference range helps to diagnose hyperhomocysteine during pregnancy.

Homocysteine; Healthy pregnant women; Reference range