Uterine artery Doppler velocimetry , calcium and lipids in pregnant women of advanced age

Women of advanced maternal age are considered to be at a substantially increased risk of spontaneous abortion. The increased spontaneous abortion rate in older women rnight be associated with a defective vascular response to placentation, which rnight lead to fetal ischaemia and fetal dead. Doppler velocirnetry of the uterine artery allows non-invasive assessment of uteroplacental hemodynamics. The association of uterine artery Doppler flow velocity waveforms with the risk of spontaneous abortion was examined in 393 women aged 35 years and older in the first trimester of pregnancy. Twenty women aborted spontaneously; 10 pregnancies were terminated because of chromosomal anomalies. Maternal age and gestational age at intake were significantly associated with the spontaneous abortion rate (p=0.01 and p=0.001, respectively). Uterine artery PI values declined significantly during the first trimester (p=0.001). However, no association was found between uterine artery PI values and spontaneous abortion rate. PI, maternal age and gestational age at intake were not essentially different between women who aborted spontaneously before or after chorionic villus sampling. No association was found between PI, maternal age, and gestational age at intake and genetic abortion rate. These findings indicate that uterine artery blood flow velocity waveforms as expressed by the pulsatility index, bear no relationship with spontaneous abortion.