title: Iron and folate status in Zairian mothers and their newborns.
abstract: An evaluation of iron and folate status was carried out on 166 Zairian pregnant women from Kinshasa at delivery and in cord blood from their newborns. Anemia, defined as a low hematocrit value (less than 33%), was observed in 38% of pregnant women. Iron deficiency, recognized by a combination of abnormal values for serum ferritin level (less than or equal to 12 micrograms/l) and transferrin saturation (less than 16%) was present in 54% of pregnant women. Folate deficiency, defined by a red blood cell folate of less than 100 micrograms/l, was observed in 6% of cases. In anemic mothers, anemia was associated with iron deficiency in 57% of cases and with folate deficiency in 5%. Correlations between maternal and newborn iron and folate indicators were found. This study points out the necessity for developing strategies in African countries to combat nutritional anemias during pregnancy by specific measures combined with general strategies.
authors.affiliation: Département de Pédiatrie, Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa, Zaïre.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mashako
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Preziosi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nsibu
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galán
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kapongo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Potier de Courcy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nsaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hercberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood*; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; D005293:Ferritins; D005492:Folic Acid; D007501:Iron