Vitamin A serum and gestational intercurrences in postpartum women
Keywords:
Carotenoids, Pregnancy complications, Pregnancy, Pospartum period, Vitamin AAbstract
Objective
The objective was to investigate an association between pregnancy complications and serum retinol and carotenoid levels in puerpere seen at a public maternity of Rio de Janeiro.
Methods
The sample consisted of 262 puerpere seen at the Maternity School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Nutritional status was assessed by determining the body mass index before pregnancy and by the weight gained during pregnancy. Information on pregnancy complications was collected from the medical records. Low levels of serum retinol and carotenoids were defined as those below the cut-off points of 1.05mmol/L and 80mg/dL respectively.
Results
Almost half the sample (42.7%) had pregnancy complications which included anemia (29.0%), low retinol levels (24.4%) and gestational hypertension (5.7%). Women with gestational hypertension were more likely to be obese before pregnancy when compared with those without gestational hypertension. The mean serum levels of carotenoids were also found to be lower among women who developed gestational hypertension and 91.7% of these women had inadequate levels of these nutrients.
Conclusion
The results show that many women suffer pregnancy complications and have nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, they indicate that pregestational obesity may be a risk factor for the development of gestational hypertension and suggest an association between low serum carotenoid levels and gestational hypertension.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Luciana Ferreira CAMPOS, Cláudia SAUNDERS, Andréa RAMALHO, Mirian Martins GOMES, Elizabeth ACCIOLY
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