The Role of Early Pregnancy Maternal Selenium Levels on the Risk for Small-for-Gestational Age Newborns

Abstract

It has not yet been established, whether or not the maternal serum selenium (Se) in early pregnancy may be a risk marker of small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth weight. Selenium is important for human health and is involved in oxidative balance, a key element in the development of the placenta and fetus. This innovative study was nested in a prospective cohort of 750 women recruited in the 10–14th week of a single pregnancy, all of whom were healthy during recruitment. We examined mothers delivering SGA infants (with birth weight <10th percentile) (n = 48) and matched mothers delivering appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants (between 10–90th percentile) (n = 192). We measured the maternal microelement concentrations in the serum from the 10–14th gestational week, using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The odds ratios of SGA (and 95% confidence intervals) were assessed in logistic regression. The mean maternal Se concentrations were lower in mothers in the SGA group compared to the AGA group (59.60 vs. 62.54 µg/L; p = 0.020). Women in the lowest Q1 quartile of Se (≤56.60 µg/L) have about three times higher risk of SGA compared to women in the higher quartiles (Q2 or Q4); the odds ratio of SGA was OR = 3.02 (p = 0.019) for Q1 vs. Q2 quartile. The risk profile graph confirms the results. We found that excessive pre-pregnancy BMI (body mass index) affected the estimated SGA odds ratios. Early pregnancy maternal serum selenium status can be a risk marker of SGA newborns and more research is needed in larger groups.

Dietary Selenium Supplementation Ameliorates Female Reproductive Efficiency in Aging Mice

“…There is still a comparative dearth of adequately powered mechanistic and functional studies elucidating the wider implications of Se and selenoproteins in female fertility and reproduction [9,28]. Available evidence highlights that studies focusing on role of Se as an essential trace element in female reproduction are mainly focused on human pregnancy [30] and related complications such as pre-eclampsia [31], miscarriage and preterm birth [9,32], intrauterine growth restriction [33], small-for-gestational age newborns [34], pregnancy-induced hypertension [35], and pregnancy-related autoimmune thyroid disease [36]. Lower Se status and glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3) activity are shown to contribute in the progression of neoplastic diseases of female reproductive system including endometrial and ovarian cancers [37][38][39][40].…”

Serum Microelements in Early Pregnancy and their Risk of Large-for-Gestational Age Birth Weight

“…The birth weight was measured after birth using an electronic scale (in grams). For the assessment of birth weight categories (in percentiles), data from fetal biometry (between 20 and 42 weeks of gestation) for the Polish population for gestational age and the gender of the newborn was used [20]. Large-for-gestational age birth weight (LGA) was defined as a weight >90th percentile.…”

“…General precision was lower than 5% RSD (relative standard deviation). The final concentration included a dilution factor and coefficient that was the mean value of two flanking certified reference materials concentrations divided by the mean concentration determined by the manufacturer of CRM [20,30,32,33].…”

“…The results of studies on retrospective associations between the maternal status of these microelements and birth weight are divergent [23], but the levels of microelements in women in late pregnancy or after childbirth may be the attributed to various already developed disorders such as the development of gestational diabetes or pregnancy-induced hypertension; an important element of these disorders is increased oxidative stress, which may result in abnormal levels of trace elements involved in oxidative balance [14,15]. In our earlier case-control study based on data from a prospectively collected cohort of pregnant women without chronic diseases, we found links between lower serum Se levels at the 10-14th weeks of pregnancy and a higher risk of small-for-gestational-age birth weight (SGA) [20]. However, other studies have shown that the relationship between lower levels of trace elements and SGA are inconsistent [24], and meta-analyses have shown that the relationship between multivitamin supplementation in pregnancy and the reduction of SGA risk are weak [25].…”

“…Prospective studies assessing the relationship of Se, Cu, Zn, and Fe in early pregnancy with the risk of high or low birth weight are few and concern the risk of low birth weight [20][21][22]. The results of studies on retrospective associations between the maternal status of these microelements and birth weight are divergent [23], but the levels of microelements in women in late pregnancy or after childbirth may be the attributed to various already developed disorders such as the development of gestational diabetes or pregnancy-induced hypertension; an important element of these disorders is increased oxidative stress, which may result in abnormal levels of trace elements involved in oxidative balance [14,15].…”