title: Serum vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene levels in preeclamptic women in northern nigeria.
abstract: We compared the serum levels of beta-carotene, vitamin A (retinol), and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in healthy pregnant women and their counterparts who exhibited the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia or eclampsia, including: systolic blood pressure greater than 160 mm Hg, edema, and proteinuria. The study was conducted in the cities of Maiduguri and Bauchi, which are located in the semi-arid northeastern region of Nigeria. Most of the pregnant subjects: (1) were teenagers, though they ranged in age from 14 to 25 years; (2) had 2 or fewer prior pregnancies; and (3) were predominantly of the Muslim faith and members of the Hausa, Fulani, or Kanuri ethnic groups. Few of the women had received prenatal care. Serum levels of vitamins A and E and betacarotene were quantified using high pressure liquid chromatography. The serum vitamin A levels of the 9 preeclamptic women (15.3 mg/dL) and the 7 eclamptic women (8.3 mg/dL) were significantly reduced (p < 0.01) relative to the serum vitamin A levels of healthy women in the third trimester (24.2 mg/dL). For the healthy pregnant controls, the levels of vitamins A and E and beta-carotene were relatively constant throughout pregnancy. The mean serum beta-carotene levels for both the preeclamptic and eclamptic groups of subjects were half as high as those of healthy control women in the third trimester (p = 0.004). The serum vitamin E levels of the preeclamptic and eclamptic women were 15% and 30% lower, respectively, than those of the corresponding controls (p < 0.01). The serum levels of these three lipids in the healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women we studied are similar to values reported by others for North American and European women of childbearing age. These results support the hypothesis that preeclampsia-eclampsia deplete natural lipid antioxidants and suggest that the reduced levels of vitamin A in such women experiencing hypertension of pregnancy, if they happen to be infected with the HIV-1 virus, may place them at increased risk for mother-child transmission of the virus.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ziari
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Mireles
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Cantu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cervantes
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Idrisa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bobsom
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Tsin
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Glew
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004461:Eclampsia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D019207:beta Carotene; D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E