Newborns Vitamin A in Relation to Sex and Birth Weight

Cord serum vitamin A values were determined in 256 male and 294 female neonates born in Tehran. The mean cord serum vitamin A values (micrograms/dl +/- SD) was 24.04 +/- 6.87 and ranged from 3.16 to 49.71 micrograms/dl. Males had significantly lower mean cord serum vitamin A values than females (P less than 0.001), and the prevalence of low serum vitamin A (below 20 micrograms/dl) was higher in male neonates than female ones (35 and 21 per cent, respectively). Serum retinol values increased gradually with birth weight. The mean serum vitamin A for premature neonates was significantly lower than term neonates. A significant r value for the linear correlation between cord serum retinol and parity was obtained for mothers aged more than 35 years.