ObjectiveTo investigate the expressions of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p in patients with gestational hypertension (GH), and their relation with severity and adverse pregnancy outcome. MethodsA total of 82 GH patients (the GH group) and 82 normal pregnant women were enrolled, and they were assigned to simple GH group (37 cases), mild preeclampsia group (the mild PE group, 28 cases), or severe preeclampsia group (the severe PE group, 17 cases) according to severity, and then patients in the GH group were further assigned to favorable pregnancy outcome group (the favorable group, 37 cases) or adverse pregnancy outcome group (the adverse group, 45 cases) according to pregnancy outcomes. The clinical indices were compared between patients of the GH group and the control group. The real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was applied to detect expressions of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p, and to analyze the relation of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions with GH severity and pregnancy outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to analyze values of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions for alone and jointly predicting adverse pregnancy outcome in GH patients. ResultsCompared with the control group, the GH group exhibited elevated mean arterial pressure, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and 24-hour urinary protein content, as well as elevated expressions of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p (P<0.05). Serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions were elevated successively in the simple GH group, the mild PE group, and the severe PE group (P<0.05). Serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions in patients of the favorable group were lower than those of the adverse group (P<0.05). Areas under the curve of serum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions for alone and jointly predicting adverse pregnancy outcome in GH patients were 0.860, 0.808, and 0.911, respectively, and area under the curve of the combined prediction was superior to that of prediction of single index (P<0.05). ConclusionSerum miR-34a-5p and miR-488-3p expressions are elevated in GH patients. The two all exert favorable predictive efficiency on adverse pregnancy outcome in GH patients, and the combined prediction exerts superior efficiency.