A Comparative Study to Assess Maternal Serum Prolactin Levels in Women with Pre-eclampsia and Normal Pregnancy

Abstract Introduction: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that contributes significantly to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Its exact etiology remains unclear; though hormonal changes are thought to play a role. This study aimed to compare maternal serum prolactin levels in women with pre-eclampsia and normotensive pregnancies and evaluate the association between prolactin levels and severity of pre-eclampsia. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur. A total of 100 pregnant women beyond 20 weeks of gestation were included: 50 with pre-eclampsia and 50 normotensive controls, all with singleton pregnancies. Serum prolactin levels were measured using chemiluminescence immunoassay. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean serum prolactin level in the pre-eclamptic group was significantly higher (465.1 ± 103.44 μIU/ml) compared to the normotensive group (185.36 ± 80.34 μIU/ml, p < 0.0001). Within the pre-eclamptic group, women with severe pre-eclampsia had higher prolactin levels (476.13 ± 102.98 μIU/ml) than those with mild pre-eclampsia (433.69 ± 102.13 μIU/ml), though the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.3). Prolactin levels were strongly positively correlated with systolic (r = 0.779) and diastolic (r = 0.698) blood pressure (p < 0.001 for both). Conclusion: The findings suggest that elevated maternal serum prolactin is significantly associated with pre-eclampsia and correlates with blood pressure levels. Although levels were higher in severe cases, the difference was not significant. Prolactin may have potential as a biomarker for pre-eclampsia diagnosis and severity assessment.