309 Aspirin Decreases Triglycerides in the Development of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is associated with higher triglyceride and copeptin levels. Low-dose aspirin (ASA, 81 mg) is routinely prescribed in pregnancy to prevent the development of preeclampsia. However, the mechanism of this remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to determine if ASA is effective in lowering triglyceride (TG) and copeptin levels in association with preeclampsia. In this retrospective case control study, subjects were selected from the Perinatal Family Tissue Bank (IRB#200910784) based on ASA use and preeclampsia diagnosis. Demographics were collected from the electronic health record using the Intergenerational Health Knowledgebase. TG and copeptin were measured using commercial assays. T test, chi square tests, and ANOVA were performed as appropriate. Alpha was set at 0.05. Preeclampsia pregnancies were associated with a higher rate of ASA use in comparison to controls (47% vs. 25%, p< 0.001). Maternal age, race/ethnicity, BMI, and gravida were similar between groups. The combined interaction of ASA use and preeclampsia was significant (p< 0.05) demonstrating a larger decrease in mean TG between the first and 3rd trimester with ASA treatment in those with preeclampsia (105.2 ± 25.1 vs 11.1 ± 43.4 mg/dL) vs. controls (71.8 ± 8.4 vs. 88.0 ±26.6 mg/dL). This interaction was not observed in the difference in copeptin levels (p=0.311). These data suggest that aspirin may decrease triglycerides in pregnancy in patients who develop preeclampsia. Exploring this mechanism further may lead to a more efficacious preventative for preeclampsia.