The effect of multi mineral-vitamin D supplementation on pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia

• Background:
  • Maternal micronutrient supplementation is among the various strategies that help reduce complications in pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia. Important nutrients and possible mechanisms include:
    • Calcium and magnesium reduce parathyroid calcium release and regulate intracellular calcium concentrations, in addition to increasing the sensitivity of vascular smooth muscle to nitric oxide
    • Zinc and Vitamin D influence the regulation of insulin-like growth factor I and its receptor, to attain improved insulin sensitivity and gene expression associated with normal implantation and angiogenesis
  • Objective
    • To investigate the effect of multi mineral-vitamin D supplementation on pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia
       
• Method:
  • Subjects
    • A total of 46 pregnant women aged 18 – 40 years old completed the trial
    • Carrying singleton pregnancy at their third trimester and at risk for pre-eclampsia as indicated by a positive roll-over test
    • Randomly assigned to receive either the placebo (n = 23) or multi mineral-vitamin D supplements (n = 23) over 9 weeks
  • The multi mineral-vitamin D supplements given contained 800 mg calcium, 200 mg magnesium, 8 mg zinc and 400 IU vitamin D3
  • Key outcomes assessed include:
    • Pregnant women: body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, serum calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels
    • Newborns: length, weight, head circumference
     
• Key Findings:
  • In comparison to placebo, multi mineral-vitamin D supplementation resulted in:
    • Decreased maternal blood pressure for systolic (-1.08 mmHg vs. 6.08 mmHg, p = 0.001) and diastolic pressure (-0.44 mmHg vs. 3.05 mmHg, p = 0.02)
    • Increased maternal serum levels of
      • Calcium (+0.19 mg/dL vs. -0.08 mg/dL, p = 0.03)
      • Magnesium (+0.15 mg/dL vs. -0.08 mg/dL, p = 0.03)
      • Zinc (+8.25 mg/dL vs. -21.38 mg/dL, p = 0.001)
      • Vitamin D (+3.79 ng/ml vs. -1.37 ng/ml, p = 0.01)
    • Increased newborns’ length (51.3 cm ± 1.7 cm vs. 50.3 cm ± 1.2 cm, p = 0.03)
    • No significant differences in newborns’ weight and head circumference, or maternal serum iron levels
       
• Conclusion:
  • Multi mineral-vitamin D supplementation for 9 weeks in pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia resulted in positive maternal and fetal outcomes

WYE-EM-288-OCT-15

Reference

Asemi Z and Esmaillzadeh A. The effect of multi mineral-vitamin D supplementation on pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia. Int J Prev Med. 2015;6:62. Link to PubMed