Low maternal vitamin B12 status is associated with intrauterine growth retardation in urban South Indians

S Muthayya, AV Kurpad, CP Duggan… - European journal of …, 2006 - nature.com
S Muthayya, AV Kurpad, CP Duggan, RJ Bosch, P Dwarkanath, A Mhaskar, R Mhaskar…
European journal of clinical nutrition, 2006nature.com
Objective: To assess the maternal sociodemographic, anthropometric, dietary and
micronutrient status in apparently healthy pregnant women in order to determine their
associations with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Design: Prospective observational
study. Setting: Bangalore City, India. Subjects: A total of 478 women were recruited at
12.9±3.3 weeks of gestation and followed up at the first, second and third trimesters of
pregnancy and at delivery. The dropout rate was 8.5%. Interventions: None. Main outcome …
Abstract
Objective:
To assess the maternal sociodemographic, anthropometric, dietary and micronutrient status in apparently healthy pregnant women in order to determine their associations with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).
Design:
Prospective observational study.
Setting:
Bangalore City, India.
Subjects:
A total of 478 women were recruited at 12.9±3.3 weeks of gestation and followed up at the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy and at delivery. The dropout rate was 8.5%.
Interventions:
None.
Main outcome measures:
Birth weight was measured at hospital delivery.
Results:
The mean birth weight was 2.85±0.45 kg. In all, 28.6% of newborns were IUGR. There was a strong inverse relationship between maternal educational level and risk of IUGR. A low body weight at baseline was also associated with a high risk of IUGR. Compared with women in the highest quartile for second trimester weight gain, those in the lowest quartile had a significantly higher adjusted odds ratio (AOR: 3.98; 95% CI: 1.83, 8.65) for IUGR. Women in the lowest tertile for serum vitamin B 12 concentration during each of the three trimesters of pregnancy had significantly higher risk of IUGR (AOR: 5.98, 9.28 and 2.81 for trimesters 1–3, respectively).
Conclusions:
The present study demonstrates associations between educational status, maternal weight and gestational weight gain with IUGR. Importantly, in a subsample, there were strong associations of vitamin B 12 status with IUGR, suggesting that better socioeconomic conditions, improved nutritional status and early detection of vitamin B 12 deficiency in pregnancy combined with appropriate interventions are likely to play an important role in reducing IUGR.
nature.com