title: Maternal and Umbilical Cord Blood Levels of Zinc and Copper in Active Labor Versus Elective Caesarean Delivery at Khartoum Hospital, Sudan.
abstract: A case-control study was conducted in Khartoum Hospital Sudan to determine maternal and umbilical cord blood levels of zinc and copper in active labor versus elective cesarean delivery. Cases were women delivered vaginally and controls were women delivered by elective cesarean (before initiation of labor). Paired maternal and cord zinc and copper were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The two groups (52 paired maternal and cord in each arm) were well matched in their basic characteristics. In comparison with cesarean delivery, the median (interquartile range) of both maternal [87.0 (76.1-111.4) vs. 76.1 (65.2-88.3) μg/dL, P = 0.004] and cord zinc [97.8 (87.0-114.1) vs. 81.5(65.2-110.2) μg/dL P = 0.034] levels were significantly higher in the vaginal delivery. While there was no significant difference in the maternal copper [78.8 (48.1-106.1) vs. 92.4 (51.9-114.9) μg/dL, P = 0.759], the cord copper [43.5(29.9-76.1) vs. 32.2(21.7-49.6) μg/dL, P = 0.019] level was significantly higher in vaginal delivery. There was no significant correlation between zinc (both maternal and cord) and copper. While the cord zinc was significantly correlated with maternal zinc, there was no significant correlation between maternal and cord copper. The current study showed significantly higher levels of maternal and cord zinc and cord copper in women who delivered vaginally compared with caesarean delivery.
authors.affiliation: Sudan Academy of Sciences, Khartoum, Sudan. dr.alaeldin@gmail.co.
authors.forename: Alaeldin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elhadi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. duria11@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Duria A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rayis
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. halaabdullahi@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hala
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdullahi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. leanamust@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Leana M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Elbashir
authors.affiliation: Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Khartoum, Sudan. rihabrere@yahoo.com.|College of Applied Medical Sciences, Almajmaah University, Almajmaah, Riyadh, KSA. rihabrere@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Naji I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. ishagadam@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ishag
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Adam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002585:Cesarean Section; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D013397:Sudan; D055815:Young Adult; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Cesarean delivery; Copper; Pregnancy; Sudan; Zinc