Essential Trace Elements Status in Portuguese Pregnant Women and Their Association with Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes: A Prospective Study from the IoMum Cohort

Abstract

Cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn) are essential trace elements (ETEs) and important cofactors for intermediary metabolism or redox balance. These ETEs are crucial during pregnancy, their role on specific pregnancy outcomes is largely unknown. This prospective study (#NCT04010708) aimed to assess urinary levels of these ETEs in pregnancy and to evaluate their association with pregnancy outcomes. First trimester pregnant women of Porto and Lisbon provided a random spot urine sample, and sociodemographic and lifestyle data. Clinical data were obtained from clinical records. Urinary ETEs were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A total of 635 mother:child pairs were included. Having urinary Zn levels above the 50th percentile (P50) was an independent risk factor for pre-eclampsia (PE) (aOR [95% CI]: 5.350 [1.044–27.423], p = 0.044). Urinary Zn levels above the P50 decreased the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) birth head circumference (aOR [95% CI]: 0.315 [0.113–0.883], p = 0.028), but it increased the risk SGA length (aOR [95% CI]: 2.531 [1.057–6.062], p = 0.037). This study may provide valuable information for public health policies related to prenatal nutrition, while informing future efforts to de-fine urinary reference intervals for ETEs in pregnant women.

Microbial Contribution to Agricultural Development and Environmental Conservation

“…Living organisms carry out their activities by depending on essential materials from the soil. The soil contains various major nutrients or elements including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca) [23] and minor elements including manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), etc [24]. Furthermore, microorganisms were responsible for recycling the elements to prevent them from being used up without replacement.…”

A linear regression analysis of the effect of bioelements on acute respiratory infections incidence in preschool children

“…Ukraine 8(136)/2023 20 Вступ Б іоелементи -це хімічні елементи, що входять до складу живих тканин і відіграють важливу роль у процесах життєдіяльності. Зокрема, вони мають антиоксидантні властивості, беруть участь у синтезі багатьох ферментів і функціонуванні різноманітних ланок імунної системи [2,4,12,16]. Натепер добре відомо, що фізіологічні ефекти біоелементів мають важливе інтегративне значення в забезпеченні структурної й функціональної цілісності вроджених та адаптивних імунних механізмів [2,12,20,29].…”