Investigation of vitamin A nutrition in pregnant British Asians and their infants

Abstract

Plasma retinol and retinol-binding protein (RBP) concentrations were lower in 23 South London Asian women of Indo-Pakistani origin than in 21 non-Asian controls during pregnancy (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.05 respectively). Cord blood concentrations of retinol and RBP were the same in Asians and non-Asians. Plasma retinol concentration decreased with increasing gestation (P less than 0.01), but RBP concentration did not alter. Retinyl palmitate, 8000 i.u. daily from 30 weeks gestation to term, was given to a group of 14 Asian mothers with low plasma retinol concentrations. This caused a significant increase in maternal plasma retinol concentration at delivery compared with 15 controls, indicating possible deficiency, but did not affect cord blood concentrations. There was no difference in anthropometric measurements of the infants of control or supplemented mothers, nor was there a correlation between the anthropometric measurements and the plasma retinol or RBP concentrations.