Vitamin A concentration in umbilical cord blood of infants from three separate regions of the province of Québec (Canada).
BACKGROUND
Inuit women from Northern Québec have been shown to consume inadequate quantities of vitamin A. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of blood vitamin A deficiency in newborns from 3 distinct populations of the province of Québec.


METHODS
594 newborns were included in this study (375 Inuit newborns from northern Québec (Nunavik), 107 Caucasian and Native newborns from the Lower Northern Shore of the Saint-Lawrence River (LNS) and 112 newborns from Southern Québec where clinical vitamin A deficiency is uncommon). Mothers were recruited at delivery and vitamin A (retinol) was analyzed from umbilical cord blood samples by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography.


RESULTS
Nunavik and LNS newborns had significantly lower mean vitamin A concentrations in cord blood compared to Southern Québec participants (15.7 microg/dL, 16.8 microg/dL and 20.4 microg/dL respectively). The differences observed were similar when adjusted for sex and birthweight. Results also showed that 8.5% of Nunavik newborns and 12.2% of LNS newborns were below 10.0 microg/dL, a level thought to be indicative of blood vitamin A deficiency in neonates.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that a carefully planned vitamin A supplementation program during pregnancy in Nunavik and LNS might be indicated to promote healthy infant development.
Dallaire
Frédéric
F
Public Health Research Unit, Laval University Medical Center (CHUL-CHUQ), and Laval University, Sainte-Foy, Québec.
Dewailly
Eric
E
Shademani
Ramesh
R
Laliberté
Claire
C
Bruneau
Suzanne
S
Rhainds
Marc
M
Blanchet
Carole
C
Lefebvre
Michel
M
Ayotte
Pierre
P
D000328:Adult; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D004930:Inuit; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*
D014801:Vitamin A