INTRAUTERINE GROWTH AND THE VITAMIN E STATUS OF FULL-TERM AND PRETERM NEWBORNS

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the concentration of alpha-tocopherol in umbilical cord serum of full-term and preterm newborns, in order to assess the nutritional status of both groups in relation to the vitamin and its possible correlation with intrauterine growth. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study conducted with 140 newborns, of which 64 were preterm and 76 were full-term. They did not have any malformations, they came from healthy mothers, who were nonsmokers, and delivered a single baby. Intrauterine growth was evaluated by weight-to-gestational age at birth, using Intergrowth-21st. Thealpha-tocopherol levels of umbilical cord serum were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Results: The mean concentration of alpha-tocopherol in umbilical cord serum for preterm and full-term infants was 263.3±129.5 and 247.0±147.6 µg/dL (p=0.494). In the preterm group, 23% were small for gestational age, whereas in the full-term group, this percentage was only 7% (p=0.017). Low levels of vitamin E were found in 95.3% of preterm infants and 92.1% of full-term infants. There was no correlation between alpha-tocopherol levels and weight to gestational age Z score (p=0.951). Conclusions: No association was found between alpha-tocopherol levels and weight to gestational age at birth. Intrauterine growth restriction was more frequent in preterm infants and most infants had low levels of vitamin E at the time of delivery.

[1]  T. Fenton,et al.  INTERGROWTH-21st very preterm size at birth reference charts , 2016, The Lancet.

[2]  J. Wrammert,et al.  Level of mortality risk for babies born preterm or with a small weight for gestation in a tertiary hospital of Nepal , 2015, BMC Public Health.

[3]  R. Mori,et al.  Long‐term alpha‐tocopherol supplements may improve mental development in extremely low birthweight infants , 2015, Acta paediatrica.

[4]  José Villar,et al.  International standards for newborn weight, length, and head circumference by gestational age and sex: the Newborn Cross-Sectional Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project , 2014, The Lancet.

[5]  M. Traber.  Vitamin E inadequacy in humans: causes and consequences. , 2014, Advances in nutrition.

[6]  M. Feki,et al.  VitaminA, E, and D deficiencies in tunisian very low birth weight neonates: prevalence and risk factors. , 2014, Pediatrics and neonatology.

[7]  Margaret M. Crawford,et al.  Serum Tocopherol Levels in Very Preterm Infants After a Single Dose of Vitamin E at Birth , 2013, Pediatrics.

[8]  Sajjad ur Rahman,et al.  The incidence of low birth weight and intrauterine growth restriction in relationship to maternal ethnicity and gestational age at birth – A PEARL study analysis from the State of Qatar , 2013, Qatar medical journal.

[9]  H. Schiöth,et al.  The influence of active and passive smoking during pregnancy on umbilical cord blood levels of vitamins A and E and neonatal anthropometric indices. , 2012, The British journal of nutrition.

[10]  R. Negi,et al.  Evaluation of biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity in the cord blood of preterm low birth weight neonates , 2012, The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians.

[11]  P. Nuntnarumit,et al.  Vitamin A and E status in very low birth weight infants , 2011, Journal of Perinatology.

[12]  V. Zanardo,et al.  Consequences in Infants That Were Intrauterine Growth Restricted , 2011, Journal of pregnancy.

[13]  A. Federico,et al.  Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency: update of molecular diagnosis , 2010, Neurological Sciences.

[14]  Roberto Kenji Nakamura Cuman,et al.  Fatores de risco para prematuridade: pesquisa documental , 2009 .

[15]  M. Narce,et al.  Oxidant and antioxidant status in mothers and their newborns according to birthweight. , 2008, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology.

[16]  R. Ranjan,et al.  Antioxidant levels in cord blood of low birth weight newborns. , 2008, Indian pediatrics.

[17]  T. Stein,et al.  Vitamin E: maternal concentrations are associated with fetal growth. , 2006, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[18]  Y. Chou,et al.  Antioxidant profiles in full term and preterm neonates. , 2005, Chang Gung medical journal.

[19]  Dayong Wu,et al.  Vitamin E increases production of vasodilator prostanoids in human aortic endothelial cells through opposing effects on cyclooxygenase-2 and phospholipase A2. , 2005, The Journal of nutrition.

[20]  W. Lambert,et al.  Reference range for micronutrients and nutritional marker proteins in cord blood of neonates appropriated for gestational ages. , 2005, Early human development.

[21]  Y. Larondelle,et al.  Vitamins A and E: metabolism, roles and transfer to offspring , 2005, British Journal of Nutrition.

[22]  E. Bell,et al.  Vitamin E supplementation for prevention of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. , 2003, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

[23]  H. Canatan,et al.  Antioxidant vitamin levels in term and preterm infants and their relation to maternal vitamin status. , 2002, Archives of medical research.

[24]  R. Ortega,et al.  Influence of smoking on vitamin E status during the third trimester of pregnancy and on breast-milk tocopherol concentrations in Spanish women. , 1998, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[25]  D. Nierenberg,et al.  A method for determining concentrations of retinol, tocopherol, and five carotenoids in human plasma and tissue samples. , 1992, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[26]  J. Hussein,et al.  Anti-oxidant profiles and markers of oxidative stress in preterm neonates. , 2016, Paediatrics and international child health.

[27]  A. Yaktine,et al.  Committee to Reexamine IOM Pregnancy Weight Guidelines , 2009 .