The Relationship between Cord Blood and Maternal Serum Zinc Levels and Birth Weight

Abstract

Background: Examining the relationship between cord blood and maternal serum zinc levels and birth weight.Methods: A total of 127 infant-mother pairs were assigned to study (n = 58; with birth weight < 2500 g) and control (n = 69; with birth weight ≥ 2500 g) groups. Serum samples were collected from eligible mothers and cord blood of their low birth weight (LBW) or normal birth weight (NBW) healthy newborns. The inclusion criterion for the infant-mother pairs was lack of any medical complications. Serum zinc level was measured by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer method and the results were expressed in μg/dl. The two groups were compared in terms of maternal and cord blood serum zinc levels. Then, we evaluated their association with birth weight of neonates in both groups through Student’s t-test and one-way analysis of variance using SPSS.Results: The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences (Ir.umsu.rec.1393.108 1393/04/24). Participants were provided with detailed information about the study and were assured that confidentiality would be maintained at all times. Written consent was obtained prior to data collection.The mean age of the pregnant women was 26.1±5.8 years (age range: 18-40 years). The mean birth weight of the neonates in the two groups was 3275.9±552 kg. Pregnant women with serum zinc levels of higher than 70 μg/dl gave birth to neonates with birth weight higher than 3.5, whereas mothers with serum zinc levels of less than 60 μg/dl gave birth to infants with birth weight less than 3 kg (P=0.034). Mean serum zinc level in the cord blood of LBW group was 79.16±19.86 μg/dl, which was significantly lower than that in the NBW group (95.14±17.56 μg/dl; P

Keywords

• Low birth weight
• Newborn
• Pregnant
• Serum zinc