Circulating relaxin and cervical length in midpregnancy are independently associated with spontaneous preterm birth.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to examine associations among serum relaxin levels, cervical length, and spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB).


METHODS
We conducted a case-control study within a cohort of 1080 singleton pregnant women. In all, 38 women (3.5%) delivered spontaneously preterm (< 37 completed weeks of gestation). Relaxin was measured in serum in gestational weeks 12 and 19, cervical length only in week 19. Associations to sPTB were evaluated by logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves.


RESULTS
Cervical length and relaxin in week 19, but not week 12 were associated to sPTB. There were no correlations between cervical length and relaxin level in week 12 (controls: Spearman rho: -0.07, P = .45; cases: Spearman rho: -0.07, P = .72) or week 19 (controls: Spearman rho: -0.03, P = .77; cases: Spearman rho: 0.04, P = .84).


CONCLUSIONS
There were no correlation between relaxin concentrations and the cervical length, indicating that relaxin is probably not the cause of preterm shortening of the cervix.
Sandager
Puk
P
Y Research Laboratory, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, DK-8200 Aarhus N. Denmark. puk@dadlnet.dk
Uldbjerg
Niels
N
Henriksen
Tine Brink
TB
Goldsmith
Laura T
LT
Thorsen
Poul
P
Weiss
Gerson
G
Vogel
Ida
I
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020070:Cervical Ripening / Q000502:physiology*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012372:ROC Curve; D012065:Relaxin / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
D012065:Relaxin