title: [Comparison between the serum concentration of alpha-tocopherol in puerperal women assisted in public and private maternities in Northeastern Brazil].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the concentration of serum alpha-tocopherol during the postpartum period in women admitted to public and private hospitals in Natal (RN), Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 209 women in the postpartum period, 96 of them from private hospitals and 113 from public hospitals, studied between 24 and 48 hours postpartum. Inclusion criteria were: mothers aged 12 years or more, without diseases associated with pregnancy, who had given birth to a singleton with no malformations. Clinically decompensated women with multiple fetuses were excluded. A 5 mL blood sample was obtained from each participant under fasting conditions, before the first meal of the day. The concentration of alpha-tocopherol in serum (µg/dL) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The statistical difference between means was tested by the Student's t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean concentration of alpha-tocopherol was 1.115.7 µg/dL in puerperae from the public network and 1.355.7 ± 397.6 µg/dL in puerperae from the private network , with a significant difference between groups (p=0.000687). Vitamin E concentration was determined individually and an alpha-tocopherol level <11.6 µmol/L or <499.6 µg/dL was considered to indicate deficiency. Vitamin E deficiency was detected in 5.3% of puerperae from the public network (n=6), whereas no deficiency was detected among women from the private network. However, low concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (11.6 to 16.2 µmol/L or 499.6 to 697.7 µg/dL) was detected in both groups, i.e., in 9.7% of the women from the public network (n=11) and in 4.2% for the women from the private network (n=4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results highlight that women assisted in the public sector were more vulnerable to developing low concentrations of alpha-tocopherol than women assisted in the private sector.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cristiane Santos Sânzio
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Gurgel
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Larissa Queiroz
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: de Lira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gabrielle Mahara
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Priscila Nunes
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Janaina Oliveira
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dimenstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D016304:Hospitals, Private; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D024502:alpha-Tocopherol