Assessment of the Vitamin B12 Status of Pregnant Women in Nigeria Using Plasma Holotranscobalamin

Overview

Journal ISRN Obstet Gynecol

Publisher Hindawi

Specialty Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2011 Jul 27

PMID 21789284

Citations 4

Authors

Dorothy J VanderJagt

Innocent A O Ujah

Eugene I Ikeh

Jessica Bryant

Victor Pam

Amelia Hilgart

Michael J Crossey

Robert H Glew

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy is an independent risk factor for neural tube defects and other neurological problems in infants. We determined the vitamin B12 status of 143 pregnant women in Nigeria representing all trimesters who presented to an antenatal clinic in Jos, Nigeria, using holotranscobalamin II levels (holoTCII), which is a measure of the vitamin B12 that is available for uptake into tissues. The holoTCII concentration ranged from 13 to 128 pmol/L. Using a cutoff of 40 pmol/L, 36% of the women were classified as vitamin B12-deficient. HoloTCII concentrations correlated negatively with plasma homocysteine levels (r = -0.24, P = 0.003) and positively with red blood cell folate concentrations (r = 0.28, P < 0.001). These data underscore the importance of supplementing pregnant women in Nigeria with vitamin B12 in order to ensure adequate vitamin B12 status and decrease the risk for neural tube defects.

Citing Articles

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