title: Maternal zinc deficiency and congenital anomalies in newborns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Zinc deficiency in pregnant women is common, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. The available data, however, on the association between zinc deficiency and congenital malformations in the Iranian population are insufficient. The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether maternal serum zinc deficiency is associated with major congenital malformations in newborns.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive, case-control study involved mothers of 80 neonates with congenital anomalies (study group) admitted to the Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran, Iran. During the same period (2014 and 2015), serum zinc was measured in 80 mothers who had delivered normal newborns without congenital malformations (control group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers with serum zinc deficiency had a more than sevenfold risk of malformations in the fetus compared with mothers with normal serum zinc (OR, 7.013; 95%CI: 2.716-18.110). Newborns with malformation weighing ≤2500 g were associated with lower maternal serum zinc compared with the control group (P = 0.006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an association between congenital malformation in newborns and maternal zinc deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Mofid Children's Hospital, Neonatal Health Research Center, Taleghani Hospital, Research and Development Center, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moghimi
authors.affiliation: Global Health and Health Policy Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ashrafzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Sepehr
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rassi
authors.affiliation: Mofid Children's Hospital, Neonatal Health Research Center, Taleghani Hospital, Research and Development Center, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7258-0815
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naseh
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015032:Zinc
keywords: anomaly; case-control study; congenital malformation; maternal; zinc deficiency