Many Women Have Marginal, Low Vitamin Levels Preconception
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 4, 2024 -- Many women appear to have marginal or low concentrations of folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12, or vitamin D during preconception, according to a study published online Dec. 5 in PLOS Medicine.
Keith M. Godfrey, Ph.D., from University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined longitudinal patterns of maternal vitamin status from preconception, through early and late pregnancy, and to six months postdelivery, and assessed the influence of vitamin supplementation. The analysis included 1,729 women (aged 18 to 38 years from the United Kingdom, Singapore, and New Zealand) who were randomly assigned to receive a standard vitamin supplement (control: 859) preconception or an enhanced vitamin supplement (intervention: 870).
The researchers found that at recruitment, the proportion of patients with marginal or low plasma status was 29.2 percent for folate (<13.6 nmol/L), 7.5 and 82.0 percent for riboflavin (<5 nmol/L and ≤26.5 nmol/L, respectively), 9.1 percent for vitamin B12 (<221 pmol/L), and 48.7 percent for vitamin D (<50 nmol/L), with more than 90 percent of all participants having low or marginal status for one or more of these vitamins at recruitment. Plasma concentrations of supplement components were substantially higher among participants in the intervention group after one month of supplementation compared with the control group. Higher levels were maintained in the intervention group during pregnancy. During late pregnancy, markers of vitamin insufficiency/deficiency were significantly lower in the intervention group, and the proportion of participants with vitamin D insufficiency (<50 nmol/L) was lower in the intervention group (35.1 versus 8.5 percent). Six months postdelivery, plasma vitamin B12 remained significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group.
"Preconception/pregnancy supplementation in amounts available in over-the-counter supplements substantially reduces the prevalence of vitamin deficiency and depletion markers before and during pregnancy, with higher maternal plasma vitamin B12 maintained during the recommended lactational period," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to industry.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted January 2024
Read this next
Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels Higher in Black Than White Women
FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 -- Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels are higher in Black than White pregnant women, supporting the use of accounting for these differences in...
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, May 17-19
The annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was held from May 17 to 19 in San Francisco and was attended by more than 4,000 clinicians...
ASCO: Survivors of Early Breast Cancer Can Successfully Attempt Pregnancy
THURSDAY, May 23, 2024 -- Most survivors of stage 0 to III breast cancer who attempt pregnancy postdiagnosis are able to become pregnant and have a live birth, according to a...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.