Department of Nutrition and Food Health, Faculty of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran ; Breastfeeding Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nutrition Department, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.
Food Nutr Res. 2014 Sep 23;58. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v58.25707. eCollection 2014.
Vitamin A deficiency is considered as one of the public health problems among pregnant women worldwide. Population representative data on vitamin A status in pregnancy have not previously been published from Iran.
The aim of this study was to publish data on vitamin A status in pregnant women in all the provinces of Iran in 2001, including urban and rural areas, and to describe the association of vitamin A status with maternal age, gestational age, and parity.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 3,270 healthy pregnant women from the entire country, 2,631 with gestational age ≤36 weeks, and 639 with gestational age >36 weeks. Vitamin A status was determined in serum using high-performance liquid chromatography.
Retinol levels corresponding to deficiency were detected in 6.6% (<0.36 µmol/L) and 18% had insufficient vitamin A levels (≥0.36-<0.7 µmol/L). Suboptimal level of serum retinol was observed in 55.3% of the pregnant women (0.7-1.4 µmol/L). Only about 20% of the women had optimal values (>1.4 µmol/L). The level of serum retinol was lower in older pregnant women (p=0.008), and at higher gestational age (p=0.009). High vitamin A levels were observed in pregnant women in the central areas of Iran and the lowest values in those in the southern areas of Iran.
The vitamin A status was good in 2001 but should be closely monitored also in the future. About 25% of pregnant women had a vitamin A status diagnosed as insufficient or deficient (<0.7 µmol/L). The mean serum retinol decreased as the gestational age increased. The clinical significance of this finding should be further investigated, followed by a careful risk group approach to supplementation during pregnancy.
维生素 A 缺乏被认为是全世界孕妇的公共健康问题之一。此前，伊朗尚未公布过关于孕妇维生素 A 状况的代表性人群数据。
本研究旨在发表 2001 年伊朗所有省份（包括城市和农村地区）孕妇维生素 A 状况数据，并描述维生素 A 状况与孕妇年龄、妊娠周数和产次的关系。
这是一项在全国范围内进行的描述性横断面研究，共纳入 3270 名健康孕妇，其中 2631 名孕妇的妊娠周数≤36 周，639 名孕妇的妊娠周数>36 周。采用高效液相色谱法检测血清中维生素 A 状况。
6.6%（<0.36 µmol/L）的孕妇血清视黄醇水平检测出缺乏，18%的孕妇维生素 A 水平不足（≥0.36-<0.7 µmol/L）。55.3%的孕妇血清视黄醇水平处于亚最佳状态（0.7-1.4 µmol/L）。只有约 20%的孕妇血清视黄醇水平处于最佳状态（>1.4 µmol/L）。年龄较大的孕妇（p=0.008）和妊娠周数较高的孕妇（p=0.009）血清视黄醇水平较低。伊朗中部地区孕妇的维生素 A 水平较高，而伊朗南部地区孕妇的维生素 A 水平较低。
2001 年孕妇的维生素 A 状况良好，但未来也应密切监测。约 25%的孕妇维生素 A 状况被诊断为不足或缺乏（<0.7 µmol/L）。随着妊娠周数的增加，血清视黄醇均值降低。这一发现的临床意义应进一步研究，随后应针对妊娠期间补充维生素 A 进行仔细的风险人群方法。
