Plasma urate in pregnant diabetics

SummaryPlasma urate levels obtained from 47 pregnant normotensive and 26 pre-eclamptic diabetic patients were grouped according to gestation and compared with pregnancy levels found in 399 normotensive and 42 preeclamptic non-diabetics. Before 20 weeks urate levels were significantly lower in the diabetic patients, whether they developed pre-eclampsia or not, when compared to the equivalent non-diabetic patients. This observation cannot be explained in terms of sampling differences between the diabetic and non-diabetic groups but is consistent with knowledge of urate levels in the nonpregnant diabetic. Between 21 and 25 weeks levels obtained did not differ between the groups. After 26 weeks of pregnancy there were no differences between diabetics and non-diabetics but pre-eclamptic patients in both the diabetic and non-diabetic groups had significantly higher levels than did the equivalent normotensive patients.