Maternal and umbilical cord blood serum levels of zinc, copper, magnesium, iron and calcium and their relationships with low birth weight

Considering the various evidences due to effects of trace elements on the outcome of pregnancy, we decided to assess the effect of these elements levels in maternal and cord serum on low birth weight. An Analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 344 pregnant women in labour and their neonates in Maryam, Akbarabadi and Vali-e-Asr hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Iron, zinc, copper, magnesium and calcium concentrations in cord and mother serum were measured. Collected data were analyzed by spss13 software, using Chi- square and Logistic regression tests with significant level p< 0/05. The characteristics of studied subjects were: Mean age: 27.02±5.3 years, pregnancy duration: 38.9±1.3 weeks, number of low birth weight neonates: 13(3.8%). Prevalence of trace elements deficiencies in mothers were: zinc: 26.7%, copper: 53.5%, magnesium: 72.4%, Iron:. 6%, calcium: 49.4%, and in neonates were: zinc: 3.5%, copper: 41.6%, magnesium: 67.4%, Iron: 3.2% and calcium: 2.3%. In Chi- square test, a significant negative relationship between maternal calcium deficiency and low birth weight (p=.011) was found and logistic regression analysis showed a significant negative relationship between maternal calcium serum and low birth weight (odd: 0.27, %95CI: 0.09- 0.77). Delivering low birth weight neonates were more common in mothers with calcium deficiency and other elements did not show any significant relationships with low birth weight. It is possible to find different results about the effect of these minerals on pregnancy outcome with more samples and in different settings. It is recommended to perform more research on effects of trace elements on neonatal and maternal pregnancy outcomes to help prevent mother and fetus mortality and morbidity.