Journal
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Volume 13, Issue 4, Pages 409-416Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/00001648-200207000-00008
Keywords
dietary vitamin C; ascorbic acid; maternal nutrition; preeclampsia
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Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [R01 HD/HL 32562, R01 HD/HL 34888] Funding Source: Medline
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Background. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Methods. In a case-control study of 109 women with preeclampsia and 259 controls, maternal dietary and plasma vitamin C in relation to preeclampsia risk were assessed. Dietary intake during the periconceptional period and pregnancy was ascertained using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression procedures were used to derive odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Plasma ascorbic acid was determined using automated enzymatic procedures. Results. After adjusting for maternal of, parity, prepregnancy body mass index, and energy intake, women who consumed <85 mg of vitamin C daily (below the recommended dietary allowance), as compared with others, experienced a doubling in preeclampsia risk (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.1-3.9). The OR for extreme quartiles of plasma ascorbic acid (<42.5 vs greater than or equal to 63.3 mumol/liter) was 2.3 (95% CI = 1.1-4.6). Compared with women in the highest quartile, those with plasma ascorbic acid <34.6 mumol/liter (lowest decile) experienced a 3.8-fold increased risk of preeclampsia (95% CI = 1.7-8.8). Conclusions. Our results, if confirmed, would suggest that current public health efforts to increase intake of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants may reduce the risk of preeclampsia.
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