What are the causes of increase of homocysteine level in pregnancy?

What are the causes of increase of homocysteine level in pregnancy?

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHct) is caused by numerous factors, such as genetic defects, lack of folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, drugs, aging, and renal dysfunction.

What happens when homocysteine levels are high?

High homocysteine levels in the blood can damage the lining of the arteries. High levels may also make the blood clot more easily than it should. This can increase the risk of blood vessel blockages. A clot inside your blood vessel is called a thrombus.

What is hyperhomocysteinemia pregnancy?

Hyperhomocysteinemia in pregnant women has been associated with deep venous thrombosis, recurrent miscarriage, abruption placentae, preeclampsia, neural tube defects, and fetal growth restriction.

What causes homocysteine levels to be high?

Many factors are thought to raise levels of homocysteine; among them are poor diet, poor lifestyle especially smoking and high coffee and alcohol intake, some prescription drugs, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and poor thyroid function.

What is considered a high homocysteine level?

Most laboratories report normal homocysteine levels in the blood between 4 and 15 micromoles/liter (µmol/L). Any measurement above 15 is considered high. Any measurement below 12 is considered low. Optimal homocysteine levels are below 10 to 12.

How do I lower my homocysteine levels?

We know that folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 are all involved in breaking down homocysteine in the blood. Therefore, increasing your intake of folic acid and B vitamins may lower your homocysteine level. A good source of folate can be found in fruits and vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables).

How does homocysteine affect pregnancy?

Homocysteine is an intermediate metabolite implicated in the risk of placenta-mediated complications, including preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction, and pregnancy loss. Large cohort and case-control studies have reported inconsistent associations between homocysteine and these complications.

What medications cause high homocysteine levels?

Drugs such as cholestyramine and metformin interfere with vitamin absorption from the gut. Interference with folate and homocysteine metabolism by methotrexate, nicotinic acid (niacin) and fibric acid derivatives, may lead to increased plasma homocysteine levels.

What are the risks of elevated homocysteine levels?

Elevated homocysteine is a confirmed risk factor for other problems in pregnancy including: Reduced fertility. Congenital developmental defects, such as neural tube defects like anencephaly. Preeclampsia.

Is it normal for homocysteine to fluctuate during pregnancy?

If your doctor checks your homocysteine level, it’s important to know that normal homocysteine levels fluctuate during pregnancy. In other words, a level taken at one point in time may not, necessarily, represent what your levels are most of the time.

Can a miscarriage be caused by elevated homocysteine?

Elevated homocysteine is not yet proven to cause miscarriage, but there are some commonalities with other conditions which are known to lead to miscarriages. 2  One condition, called antiphospholipid syndrome, may result in both miscarriage and heart disease 3 in an analogous way.

Can a negative MTHFR test show elevated homocysteine?

If a person has two of the C677T gene variants, or a C6771 gene variant and one A1298C gene variant, the test often shows elevated homocysteine levels. But two A1298C gene variants usually aren’t associated with elevated homocysteine levels. It’s possible to have a negative MTHFR gene test and have high homocysteine levels.