The Effects of Two Maternal Vitamin A Supplementation Regimens on Serum Retinol in Postpartum Mothers: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Brazil

Abstract

Objective. To test whether the serum retinol level in mothers supplemented with 400,000 IU of vitamin A is higher than in those supplemented with 200,000 IU and to estimate duration of the protective effect of vitamin A supplementation in the serum retinol level. Methods. Double-blind, randomised controlled trial performed in two hospitals in the state of Pernambuco in northeast Brazil. Three hundred twelve mothers were recruited immediately postpartum. All women received a capsule containing 200,000 IU of vitamin A, and 10 days after delivery, they were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. One group received a second capsule containing vitamin A and the other group received a placebo. Each group was invited back after 2, 4, and 6 months for serum retinol analyses. Results. No difference was found between the two groups in serum maternal retinol concentration at 2 months (2.13 versus 2.03 μmol/L), 4 months (2.20 versus 2.24 μmol/L) or 6 months (2.29 versus 2.31 μmol/L). Because there was no further effect and because this population has a level of vitamin A deficiency considered mild, our results do not support a proposal to increase the dosing schedule for vitamin A in postpartum women as recommended by the IVACG.

The impact of sociodemography, diet, and body size on serum retinol in women 16–35 years of age: SANHANES‐1

“…Despite the dramatic decrease in VAD prevalence in the country, it is disconcerting to note that nonpregnant South African women have the same mean retinol levels (1.15 μmol/L) as pregnant women in Ghana and Nepal and lower mean serum retinol levels than nonpregnant women in Vietnam (1.49 μmol/L), Ghana (1.54 μmol/L), Brazil (1.61 μmol/L), and Iran (2.38 μmol/L) . However, it should be borne in mind that the SANHANES‐1 did not record parity and gravidity of the women, and as such the lower mean retinol concentrations in our sample could be attributed to the inclusion of postpartum women and women who have had one or more children.…”

Vitamin A Status in the Mother-Child Couple at the University Teaching Hospital of Angondje in Gabon

“…In the Hanson et al USA study, [13] 10% of mothers and 80% of neonates in a population of 189 mother-infant pairs had retinol ≤ 0.70 μmol/L with a strong correlation between concentrations of the Vitamin A compounds of the mother and the child. In the USA and Brazil, the prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency in pregnant women was 8% and 5% respectively in 2012 and reached 25% in lactating women in northern Brazil [14].…”