THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL WEIGHT ON MATERNAL SERUM ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN LEVELS

  1. Nicholas Wald1,
  2. Howard Cuckle1,
  3. Jillian Boreham1,
  4. Emanuela Terzian1,
  5. Christopher Redman2

Article first published online: 23 AUG 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1981.tb01759.x

Issue

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Volume 88, Issue 11, pages 1094–1096, November 1981

Additional Information

How to Cite

Wald, N., Cuckle, H., Boreham, J., Terzian, E. and Redman, C. (1981), THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL WEIGHT ON MATERNAL SERUM ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN LEVELS. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 88: 1094–1096. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1981.tb01759.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    ICRF Cancer Epidemiology and Clinical Trials Unit Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE

  2. 2

    Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 23 AUG 2005
  2. Article first published online: 23 AUG 2005
  3. Received July 21, 1980/Accepted June 24, 1981

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Summary

In 902 singleton pregnancies, maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy were significantly related to maternal weight (r =−0.24, p <0.0001). Lighter women had on average higher AFP levels than heavier women, perhaps on account of the greater concentration of AFP in their relatively smaller volume of blood. The mean AFP level for women weighing less than 45 kg was 68 % higher than the mean level for women weighing 85 kg or more. Maternal weight was found to be an important factor which could account for false positive AFP results in antenatal screening for open neural tube defects. A policy of adjusting maternal serum AFP values according to maternal weight among women with borderline positive results could reduce the number having a diagnostic amniocentesis with only a negligible loss of detection for open spina bifida. With such a policy, using a cut-off level of 2.5 × normal median, the false positive rate in the 902 women screened would have been reduced from 2.8 % to 2.0%.

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