Serum vitamins A and E at mid pregnancy and their relationships with both maternal and cord blood antioxidant status and perinatal conditions: the NELA cohort

Introduction: Most of pregnant women do not achieve the recommended dietary intake of vitamins A and E. These vitamins may counteract oxidative stress involved in some adverse perinatal outcomes. We aimed to assess the associations between maternal vitamin A and E at mid-pregnancy with both maternal and fetal outcomes and to identify possible early biomarkers during pregnancy to predict and prevent oxidative stress in the offspring.Methods: Data on dietary and serum levels of vitamins A and E were collected from 544 pregnant women from the Nutrition in Early Life and Asthma (NELA) study, a prospective mother-child cohort set up in Spain.Results: There were large discrepancies between low dietary vitamin E intake (78% of the mothers) and low serum vitamin E levels (3%) at 24 weeks of gestation. Maternal serum vitamins A and E at mid-pregnancy were associated with higher antioxidant status not only in the mother at this time point (lower hydroperoxides and higher total antioxidant activity) but also with the newborn at birth (higher total antioxidant activity). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was negatively associated with maternal serum vitamin A (OR: 0.95 CI 0.91-0.99, P=0.009) at mid-pregnancy. Nevertheless, we could not detect any association between GDM and oxidative stress parameters.Conclusions: In conclusion, maternal vitamin A and E serum levels may be used as an early potential biomarker of antioxidant status of the neonate at birth. Control of these vitamins during pregnancy could help to avoid morbid conditions in the newborn caused by oxidative stress in GDM pregnancies.

Automated summary

Most pregnant women do not meet the recommended intake of vitamins A and E. However, higher levels of these vitamins in maternal serum during mid-pregnancy are associated with a higher antioxidant status in both the mother and the newborn. Gestational diabetes mellitus is negatively associated with maternal serum vitamin A levels, but no association with oxidative stress parameters was found.