Nutrition status of pregnant women and lactating mothers in rural areas of four counties in Guizhou and Henan Provinces

Objective To analyze the levels of serum ferritin(SF), transferrin receptor(sTfR), vitamin D(VD), folate(FOL), vitamin B_(12)(VB_(12)) and homocysteine(Hcy) of pregnant women and lactating mothers in rural areas, aiming to evaluate the nutritional status of pregnant women and lactating mothers. Methods By using a cluster sampling method, the subjects were the pregnant women at 10-20 weeks& apos; gestation and lactating mothers at 42±7 days& apos; postpartum who have been to the maternal and children health hospital in the county for examination from August 2019 to March 2020. SF, VD, VB_(12) and FOL concentrations were determined using the chemiluminescence assay. Hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hsCRP) and sTfR levels were determined using the immunoturbidimetry assay. Hcy levels were determined using the enzymatic assay. The rates of iron, vitamin D, folic acid, VB_(12) deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia(HHcy) were calculated. Results There were 1050 pregnant women and 309 lactating mothers involved. The levels of ferritin and sTfR were 49. 6(47. 1-52. 3) ng/mL and 2. 51(2. 46-2. 56) mg/L for the pregnant women, and 51. 0(46. 6-55. 9) ng/mL and 3. 53(3. 40-3. 67) mg/L for the lactating mother, respectively. The prevalence of iron deficiency in lactating mothers was significantly higher than the pregnant women(33. 0% vs. 24. 7%). The levels of VD were 17. 0(16. 6-17. 4) ng/mL for pregnant women and 16. 7(16. 0-17. 4) ng/mL for lactating mothers. The prevalence of VD deficiency was 64. 5% and 68. 9%, respectively. The level of FOL for pregnant women was significantly higher than the lactating mothers(11. 3(10. 9-11. 7)vs. 5. 7(5. 3-6. 1) ng/mL). The levels of VB_(12) for pregnant women was significantly lower than the lactating mother(282. 7(276. 1-289. 5) vs. 437. 7(418. 7-457. 6) pg/mL). The levels of Hcy for pregnant women was significantly lower than the lactating mother(7. 1(7. 0-7. 3) vs. 10. 5(10. 0-10. 9) μmol/L). The prevalence of FOL deficiency, VB_(12) deficiency and HHcy were 5. 0%, 17. 2% and 5. 0% for pregnant women and 29. 8%, 2. 3% and 27. 8% for lactating mothers, which were significant different between pregnant women and lactating mothers(P& lt; 0. 05). Among the four nutrients including iron, VD, folate and VB_(12), 75. 8% of pregnant women were deficient in at least one nutrient and 28. 1% were deficient in at least two nutrients. 81. 9% of lactating mothers were deficient in at least one nutrient and 41. 4% were deficient in at least two nutrients. Conclusion There were various degrees of nutrient deficiency. Iron deficiency rates were high and VD deficiency were severe in both pregnant women and lactating mothers. In addition, the rates of folate deficiency and HHcy were high in lactating mothers in rural areas.