NUTRITIONAL INTAKES OF ZINC, IRON, AND VITAMINS RELATIONS WITH SERUM LEVELS OF ZINC AND IRON IN EARLY PREGNANCY

Considering the important role of pregnancy nutrition on maternal and fetal
health, this study was performed to define the effects of nutritional intakes of some vitamins, zinc, and
iron on serum levels of zinc and iron in the first half of pregnancy.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 538 pregnant women attending
Tehran prenatal clinics in their first half of pregnancy in 2011. Upon entry into the study, a general
demographic and a food frequency questionnaire were completed for all participants and then a venous
blood sample was taken from them. The data were analyzed by N4 (nutritional software) and SPSS.
Results: In correlation analysis, iron serum levels had direct correlation with daily intakes of vitamin
K (r: 0.095, p-value: 0.027) and vitamin A (r: 0.16, p-value<0.001). In linear regression analysis, there
was a significant relation between zinc serum levels and consumption of folic acid (β: 0.131, p-value:
0.003) and iron supplementation (β: -0.094, p-value: 0.034). Also in linear regression analysis, there
were significant relation between iron serum levels and dietary intakes of zinc (β: -0.142, p-value:
0.053), and vitamin A (β: 0.150, p-value: 0.001).
Conclusion: Considering the obtained results about the dietary intakes of zinc and iron not affecting
their serum levels in early pregnancy, these findings need further investigation. Also, considering the
negative effect of iron supplementation on zinc serum levels, this supplement should be provided with
more precaution in pregnancy.