Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(8):372-376
DOI 10.1590/SO100-720320140005006
To compare the concentration of serum alpha-tocopherol during the postpartum period in women admitted to public and private hospitals in Natal (RN), Brazil.
The study included 209 women in the postpartum period, 96 of them from private hospitals and 113 from public hospitals, studied between 24 and 48 hours postpartum. Inclusion criteria were: mothers aged 12 years or more, without diseases associated with pregnancy, who had given birth to a singleton with no malformations. Clinically decompensated women with multiple fetuses were excluded. A 5 mL blood sample was obtained from each participant under fasting conditions, before the first meal of the day. The concentration of alpha-tocopherol in serum (µg/dL) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The statistical difference between means was tested by the Student's t-test.
The mean concentration of alpha-tocopherol was 1.115.7 µg/dL in puerperae from the public network and 1.355.7±397.6 µg/dL in puerperae from the privte network , with a significant difference between groups (p=0.000687). Vitamin E concentration was determined individually and an alpha-tocopherol level <11.6 µmol/L or <499.6 µg/dL was considered to indicate deficiency. Vitamin E deficiency was detected in 5.3% of puerperae from the public network (n=6), whereas no deficiency was detected among women from the private network. However, low concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (11.6 to 16.2 µmol/L or 499.6 to 697.7 µg/dL) was detected in both groups, i.e., in 9.7% of the women from the public network (n=11) and in 4.2% for the women from the private network (n=4).
These results highlight that women assisted in the public sector were more vulnerable to developing low concentrations of alpha-tocopherol than women assisted in the private sector.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(6):267-272
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010000600003
PURPOSE: to assess the alpha-tocopherol concentration in the serum and colostrum of adolescent and adult mothers and to determine the nutritional adequacy of vitamin E in the colostrum offered to infants. METHODS: in total, 72 pregnant women participated in the study, 25 adolescents and 47 adults. An amount of 5 mL of blood and 2 mL of colostrum were collected under fasting conditions for the analysis of alpha-tocopherol levels. The samples were analyzed by means of high performance liquid chromatography. Nutritional adequacy of colostrum for vitamin E was calculated as the product of the estimated volume of milk intake by the concentration of alpha-tocopherol in colostrum and by direct comparison of this product with the reference value for nutrient intake (4 mg/day). RESULTS: the levels of alpha-tocopherol in the serum of adolescents and adults were 30.8±9.8 and 34.1±9.5 µmol/L (mean±SD), respectively, and in colostrum, the adolescents showed a concentration of 32.9±15.8 µmol/L and the adults, a concentration of 30.4±18.0 µmol/L. No significant difference was found between concentrations of alpha-tocopherol in serum or in colostrum between adolescents and adults. CONCLUSIONS: Both adolescents and adult women had a satisfactory vitamin E nutritional status reflected in the colostrum, whose values were able to meet the nutritional requirements of infants, suggesting that the maternal age does not influence the levels of alpha-tocopherol in human colostrum.