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The prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in a primarily Latina Los Angeles population

Journal of Perinatology volume 26, pages 527–532 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To establish the prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) in a primarily Latina population in the United States.

Study design:

Over a period of 16 months, a convenience sample of subjects admitted to labor and delivery in the third trimester was enrolled. Each subject completed a questionnaire rating their severity of pruritus on a numeric scale of 1 to 10. Serum was analyzed via radioimmunoassay for total bile acid concentration. ICP was defined as pruritus score >4 and a total serum bile acid concentration of ⩾20 μmol/l. Ethnicity was determined from hospital record demographic data.

Results:

All invited participants enrolled in the study. Three hundred and forty subjects were enrolled. Three hundred and sixteen subjects (93%) were identified as Latina. The serum bile acid concentration range for the entire study population was 1 to 580 μmol/l with a mean of 10.4±34.9 μmol/l. Twenty-four (7.1%) subjects had a serum bile acid concentration ⩾20 μmol/l. A pruritus score >4 was found in 19.7% (67/340). Of the 24 subjects with a bile acid concentration ⩾20 μmol/l, 19 also had a pruritus score >4. Thus, the prevalence of ICP in this population was 5.6% (19/340). In subjects with ICP, the mean serum bile acid concentration was 89.5±124.0 μmol/l. When controlling for confounders, women with ICP were associated with higher rates of chorioamnionitis (P=0.043) and their fetuses had higher rates of thick meconium (P=0.053).

Conclusions:

The overall prevalence of ICP in this population was 5.6%, 10 to 100 times higher than previously reported data from the United States. Larger studies of perinatal morbidity examining the diagnostic criteria of cholestasis need to be conducted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, Women's and Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    R H Lee, T M Goodwin, J Greenspoon & M Incerpi

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  1. R H Lee
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  2. T M Goodwin
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  4. M Incerpi
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Correspondence to R H Lee.

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Lee, R., Goodwin, T., Greenspoon, J. et al. The prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in a primarily Latina Los Angeles population. J Perinatol 26, 527–532 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211545

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