Gestational diabetes: a risk of puerperal hypovitaminosis A?

Abstract

The influence of gestational diabetes on vitamin A deficiency in lactating women and, consequently, in their newborn has been verified through a cross-sectional case-control study conducted with volunteer puerperal women. The control group consisted of healthy women and the test group was composed of women with gestational diabetes. One hundred and seven women were recruited, corresponding to 71 controls and 36 cases. Personal, gestational and newborn data were collected directly from medical records during hospitalization. The retinol was determined in maternal colostrum and serum by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Postpartum women with gestational diabetes were older, had more children and a higher prevalence of cesarean delivery. No difference was found in retinol concentration in maternal milk and serum between the groups. However, it was observed that 16.7% had vitamin A deficiency in the group of patients with diabetes and only 4.1% had such deficiency in the control group. Although no difference was found in colostrum and serum retinol concentration between women with and without gestational diabetes, the individual analysis shows that those with diabetes are at higher risk of being vitamin A deficient.

Retinol and α-Tocopherol in the Breast Milk of Women after a High-Risk Pregnancy

“…The results suggest that the present participants showed no association between gestational diabetes (or other morbidities correlated with pregnancy) and low concentrations of retinol and α-tocopherol in breast milk, in agreement with another report that found no such association [ 11 ]. Since breast milk is the only source of these vitamins, however, there may be a greater risk, especially in the case that the newborn is premature or suffers from complications that increase oxidative stress.…”

“…Although there is currently little evidence of the association between the concentration of retinol and diabetes in pregnant women [ 9 ], this disease makes such women more prone to a marginal or poor biochemical status of vitamin A [ 9 ]. In addition to potentiating the complications caused by diabetes in pregnant women, low levels of vitamin A leave their children vulnerable to developing a deficiency of the same [ 10 , 11 ].…”