title: Maternal Vitamin A Deficiency during Pregnancy and Its Relation with Maternal and Neonatal Hemoglobin Concentrations among Poor Egyptian Families.
abstract: Background. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) during pregnancy represents a major public health problem in developing countries. Anemia is a common consequence of VAD. We aimed to measure serum retinol concentrations of a sample of poor Egyptian mothers and correlate it with their Hb% and cord Hb%. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 200 healthy mothers and their healthy full term newborns. Maternal and cord blood samples were collected for CBC and measurement of serum retinol concentrations. Results. Forty-seven mothers (23.5%) had VAD and 50% were anemic. Mothers with VAD had a significantly lower mean Hb% and a significantly higher frequency of anemia (95.7%) compared to mothers without VAD (35.9%). The relative risk for anemia among mothers with VAD was 2.7 (CI = 2.12-3.3). Newborns of mothers with VAD had a significantly lower mean cord Hb% compared to newborns of mothers without VAD. Maternal serum retinol concentrations were positively correlated with maternal Hb% and cord Hb%. Conclusion. Maternal VAD during pregnancy among poor mothers is associated with maternal anemia and lower Hb% of newborns at birth. Vitamin A supplementation is highly recommended for this vulnerable group.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hamdy
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abdel Aleem
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: El-Shazly
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