Maternal zinc deficiency during pregnancy elevates the risks of fetal growth restriction: a population-based birth cohort study

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 11262
• Main Authors: Wang, Hua, Hu, Yong-Fang, Hao, Jia-Hu, Chen, Yuan-Hua, Su, Pu-Yu, Wang, Ying, Yu, Zhen, Fu, Lin, Xu, Yuan-Yuan, Zhang, Cheng, Tao, Fang-Biao, Xu, De-Xiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 08.06.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 13/21; 13/51; 631/136/3194; 631/250/256/2515; 692/499; Adult; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Case-Control Studies; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Female; Fetal Development; Fetal Growth Retardation - physiopathology; Fetuses; Gestational Age; Health risk assessment; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Small for Gestational Age - physiology; Infants; Interleukin 8; Interleukin-8 - blood; Low birth weight; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; multidisciplinary; Neonates; Newborn babies; Nutrient deficiency; Placenta - metabolism; Population studies; Population-based studies; Pregnancy; Prenatal development; Risk factors; Science; Small for gestational age; Transcription Factor RelA - biosynthesis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Up-Regulation; Zinc; Zinc - blood; Zinc - deficiency
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep11262

We investigated the association between maternal zinc level during pregnancy and the risks of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) infants in a large population-based birth cohort study. In this study, 3187 pregnant women were recruited. For serum zinc level, 2940 pregnant women were sufficient (≥56 μg/dL) and 247 deficient (<56 μg/dL). Of interest, 7.3% newborns were with LBW among subjects with low zinc level ( RR : 3.48; 95% CI : 2.03, 5.96; P  < 0.001). Adjusted RR for LBW was 3.41 (95% CI : 1.97, 5.91; P  < 0.001) among subjects with low zinc level. Moreover, 15.0% newborns were with SGA among subjects with low zinc level ( RR : 1.98; 95% CI : 1.36, 2.88; P  < 0.001). Adjusted RR for SGA was 1.93 (95% CI : 1.32, 2.82; P  < 0.001) among subjects with low zinc level. A nested case-control study within above cohort showed that maternal serum zinc level was lower in SGA cases as compared with controls. By contrast, maternal serum C-reactive protein, TNF-α and IL-8 levels were significantly higher in SGA cases than that of controls. Moreover, nuclear NF-κB p65 was significantly up-regulated in placentas of SGA cases as compared with controls. Taken together, maternal zinc deficiency during pregnancy elevates the risks of LBW and SGA infants.