Free testosterone and abortion in early pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between percentage of free testosterone (% free T) and the abortion rate in early pregnancy.


METHODS
Progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), total T, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and % free T were measured in sera obtained from 60 pregnant women with normal pregnancy (n = 38) and missed abortion (n = 22) at between 4 and 12 weeks' gestation.


RESULTS
P, E2, total T, and SHBG in 22 patients with missed abortion were significantly lower than those in normal group, whereas % free T was significantly higher. There was a significant negative correlation between % free T and SHBG concentration in the normal group, but not in the missed abortion group. All the subjects in whom % free T was 1.30% and higher subsequently miscarried, but no subject with % free T less than 0.70% had a miscarriage.


CONCLUSIONS
The lower the % free T, the lower the rate of subsequent abortion. The value of % free T may be able to predict pregnancy outcome in early pregnancy.
Takeuchi
T
T
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Branch Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Nishii
O
O
Okamura
T
T
Yaginuma
T
T
Kawana
T
T
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol