Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation

Background: Micronutrients play an important role in influencing pregnancy outcomes. Anemia is common among pregnant women against which iron and folic acid supplementation programs are already in action. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anemic and selected micronutrient status among pr...

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Main Authors: Muthu Gopal, K Sunitha, J Arockiasamy, Maryam Jamila Sibqathulla, J Yuvaraj, Shantaraman Kalyanaraman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Community Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ijcm.org.in/article.asp?issn=0970-0218;year=2022;volume=47;issue=3;spage=425;epage=428;aulast=Gopal
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author Muthu Gopal
K Sunitha
J Arockiasamy
Maryam Jamila Sibqathulla
J Yuvaraj
Shantaraman Kalyanaraman
author_facet Muthu Gopal
K Sunitha
J Arockiasamy
Maryam Jamila Sibqathulla
J Yuvaraj
Shantaraman Kalyanaraman
author_sort Muthu Gopal
collection DOAJ
description Background: Micronutrients play an important role in influencing pregnancy outcomes. Anemia is common among pregnant women against which iron and folic acid supplementation programs are already in action. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anemic and selected micronutrient status among pregnant women. Materials and Methods: It is a community-based cross-sectional study. The study was carried out among pregnant women registered in Primary Health Center, Kallur, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India, using a semi-structured data capture tool. The blood samples were collected following standard procedure. Results: The micronutrient status among 139 pregnant women were selenium <1%, copper <1%, zinc 11.5%, iodine 14.4%, Vitamin B12 41.7%, and ferritin 42.4%. Vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium levels showed a significant difference with reference values among the three trimesters. Iron and folic acid supplementation was followed by 58.7% of pregnant women. Multiple micronutrient deficiency with anemia was found among 54.6%. Conclusion: Anemia and micronutrient deficiency are high among pregnant women in this region. Since iron and folic acid supplementation strategies are already being implemented by the government, it is high time that we extend our health policy beyond that and plan for micronutrient supplementation as well.
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spelling doaj.art-3b7b7325cf574e678f4406849e9683ed2022-12-22T04:14:06ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Community Medicine0970-02181998-35812022-01-0147342542810.4103/ijcm.ijcm_743_21Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementationMuthu GopalK SunithaJ ArockiasamyMaryam Jamila SibqathullaJ YuvarajShantaraman KalyanaramanBackground: Micronutrients play an important role in influencing pregnancy outcomes. Anemia is common among pregnant women against which iron and folic acid supplementation programs are already in action. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anemic and selected micronutrient status among pregnant women. Materials and Methods: It is a community-based cross-sectional study. The study was carried out among pregnant women registered in Primary Health Center, Kallur, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India, using a semi-structured data capture tool. The blood samples were collected following standard procedure. Results: The micronutrient status among 139 pregnant women were selenium <1%, copper <1%, zinc 11.5%, iodine 14.4%, Vitamin B12 41.7%, and ferritin 42.4%. Vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium levels showed a significant difference with reference values among the three trimesters. Iron and folic acid supplementation was followed by 58.7% of pregnant women. Multiple micronutrient deficiency with anemia was found among 54.6%. Conclusion: Anemia and micronutrient deficiency are high among pregnant women in this region. Since iron and folic acid supplementation strategies are already being implemented by the government, it is high time that we extend our health policy beyond that and plan for micronutrient supplementation as well.http://www.ijcm.org.in/article.asp?issn=0970-0218;year=2022;volume=47;issue=3;spage=425;epage=428;aulast=Gopalanemiaferritinmicronutrientspregnancyvitamin b12
spellingShingle Muthu Gopal
K Sunitha
J Arockiasamy
Maryam Jamila Sibqathulla
J Yuvaraj
Shantaraman Kalyanaraman
Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
Indian Journal of Community Medicine
anemia
ferritin
micronutrients
pregnancy
vitamin b12
title Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
title_full Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
title_fullStr Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
title_full_unstemmed Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
title_short Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy: Time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
title_sort micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy time to think beyond iron and folic acid supplementation
topic anemia
ferritin
micronutrients
pregnancy
vitamin b12
url http://www.ijcm.org.in/article.asp?issn=0970-0218;year=2022;volume=47;issue=3;spage=425;epage=428;aulast=Gopal
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AT ksunitha micronutrientdeficiencyinpregnancytimetothinkbeyondironandfolicacidsupplementation
AT jarockiasamy micronutrientdeficiencyinpregnancytimetothinkbeyondironandfolicacidsupplementation
AT maryamjamilasibqathulla micronutrientdeficiencyinpregnancytimetothinkbeyondironandfolicacidsupplementation
AT jyuvaraj micronutrientdeficiencyinpregnancytimetothinkbeyondironandfolicacidsupplementation
AT shantaramankalyanaraman micronutrientdeficiencyinpregnancytimetothinkbeyondironandfolicacidsupplementation