ROLE OF MATERNAL SERUM ZINC ON FOETAL GROWTH RATE AND ADVERSE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES: A COHORT STUDY

Abstract

To compare maternal serum Zinc in each trimester of pregnancy with foetal growth rate and different adverse pregnancy outcomes to derive the critical cutoff in predicting APO. The reported incidences of these outcomes in India are as follows: spontaneous abortion 1.7%,1% gestational diabetes, and 0.9% of stillbirths. As zinc is important for the preservation of cellular structures, any imbalance in zinc can predispose to infertility, foetal abnormalities, foetal death, and reduced weight or size of infants. So, this study attempts to compare maternal serum zinc between normal healthy pregnancy and the adverse pregnancy outcomes to derive the critical cutoff to justify their supplementation. Ethical approval and CTRI registration Ethics clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee of Kasturba Hospital Manipal IEC:182/2019 on 13/3/19. CTRI registration - REF/2020/01/030393.Patient/subject (n=1280) recruitment was made after the ethical approval and CTRI registration. During each trimester–booking visit, leftover fasting serum samples were collected from the biochemistry laboratory, and serum Zn was measured. In first trimester, serum zinc was significantly lower is spontaneous abortion and gestational diabetes mellitus compared to normal delivery. Our study implies zinc supplementation is crucial in early pregnancy to maintain a healthy pregnancy.