title: Effect of dietary fat supplementation during late pregnancy and first six months of lactation on maternal and infant vitamin A status in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: Dietary fat intake is extremely low in most communities with vitamin A deficiency. However, its role in vitamin A status of pregnant and lactating women is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of supplementing women with fat from mid-/late pregnancy until six months postpartum on their vitamin A status and that of their infants. Women recruited at 5-7 months of gestation were supplemented daily with 20 mL of soybean-oil (n = 248) until six months postpartum or received no supplement (n = 251). Dietary fat intake was assessed by 24-hour dietary recall at enrollment and at 1, 3 and 6 months postpartum. Concentrations of maternal plasma retinol, beta-carotene, and lutein were measured at enrollment and at 1, 3 and 6 months postpartum, and those of infants at six months postpartum. Concentration of breastmilk retinol was measured at 1, 3 and 6 months postpartum. The change in concentration of plasma retinol at three months postpartum compared to pregnancy was significantly higher in the supplemented compared to the control women (+0.04 vs -0.07 micromol/L respectively; p < 0.05). Concentrations of plasma beta-carotene and lutein declined in both the groups during the postpartum period but the decline was significantly less in the supplemented than in the control women at one month (beta-carotene -0.07 vs -0.13 micromol/L, p < 0.05); lutein -0.26 vs -0.49 micromol/L, p < 0.05) and three months (beta-carotene -0.04 vs -0.08 micromol/L, p < 0.05; lutein -0.31 vs -0.47 micromol/L, p < 0.05). Concentration of breastmilk retinol was also significantly greater in the supplemented group at three months postpartum than in the controls (0.68 +/- 0.35 vs 0.55 +/- 0.34 micromol/L respectively, p < 0.03). Concentrations of infants' plasma retinol, beta-carotene, and lutein, measured at six months of age, did not differ between the groups. Fat supplementation during pregnancy and lactation in women with a very low intake of dietary fat has beneficial effects on maternal postpartum vitamin A status.
authors.affiliation: Health Systems and Infectious Diseases Division, ICDDR,B, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. dsalam@icddrb.org
authors.forename: Dewan S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Joop M A
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: van Raaij
authors.forename: Joseph G A J
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hautvast
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yunus
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wahed
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007774:Lactation / Q000097:blood; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012424:Rural Population; D013024:Soybean Oil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D014801:Vitamin A; D013024:Soybean Oil
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Sep;80(3):705-14
references.pmid: 15321812
references.citation: J Nutr. 1995 Aug;125(8):2122-7
references.pmid: 7643246
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1984 Jun;39(6):903-10
references.pmid: 6720620
references.citation: Nutr Rev. 2000 Nov;58(11):341-5
references.pmid: 11140905
references.citation: Lancet. 1993 Nov 27;342(8883):1325-8
references.pmid: 7901636
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):1112-20
references.pmid: 17413113
references.citation: J Am Coll Nutr. 1998 Oct;17(5):442-7
references.pmid: 9791840
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Jul;56(1):136-47
references.pmid: 1609750
references.citation: J Trop Pediatr. 1998 Aug;44(4):232-4
references.pmid: 9718911
references.citation: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1996 Jul;50 Suppl 3:S62-7
references.pmid: 8841776
references.citation: Bull World Health Organ. 1995;73(5):703-11
references.pmid: 8846497
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Aug;78(2):259-66
references.pmid: 12885706
references.citation: Annu Rev Nutr. 1998;18:19-38
references.pmid: 9706217
references.citation: Indian J Med Res. 1980 Jan;71:53-6
references.pmid: 7380511
references.citation: J Nutr. 2002 Sep;132(9 Suppl):2920S-2926S
references.pmid: 12221270
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1996 Jan;63(1):32-5
references.pmid: 8604666
references.citation: Methods Enzymol. 1992;213:391-9
references.pmid: 1435312
references.citation: J Pediatr. 1990 Aug;117(2 Pt 2):S124-31
references.pmid: 2380845
references.citation: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1997 May;51(5):302-7
references.pmid: 9152680
references.citation: BMJ. 1999 Feb 27;318(7183):570-5
references.pmid: 10037634
references.citation: Methods Enzymol. 1992;213:336-46
references.pmid: 1435309
references.citation: Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1998;68(6):371-7
references.pmid: 9857264
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Aug;80(2):396-403
references.pmid: 15277161
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Sep;54(3):539-47
references.pmid: 1877511
references.citation: J Nutr Biochem. 2000 Apr;11(4):223-30
references.pmid: 10827345
references.citation: J Nutr. 1999 Feb;129(2):356-65
references.pmid: 10024613
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Sep;68(3):623-9
references.pmid: 9734739
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb;59(2 Suppl):517S-522S; discussion 522S-524S
references.pmid: 8304290
references.citation: Lancet. 1995 Jul 8;346(8967):75-81
references.pmid: 7603216
references.citation: Int J Epidemiol. 1998 Apr;27(2):231-7
references.pmid: 9602403