Analysis of serum vitamin A content in pregnant women at different ages

Objective To investigate the level of serum vitamin A in pregnant women at different ages and provide evidence for rational supplementation of vitamin A in pregnant and parturient women. Methods The data of serum vitamin A level in 1629 pregnant and parturient women aged 18-46 years and 396 age-matched healthy women from January 1, 2016 to September 21, 2017 in Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Results The difference in serum vitamin A levels between the elder age (36-47 years) group and the younger age (18-27 years) group was statistically significant (0.75±0.21) µmol/L vs(0.80±0.23) µmol/L, P＜ 0.05. In addition, the difference of serum vitamin A levels between normal group and pregnancy group in the elderly (36-47 years old) was also statistically significant (P＜ 0.05). The serum vitamin A levels of pregnant and parturient women decreased with the increase of age (Cochran Armitage χ²=6.546, P=0.038). Conclusion Women in advanced maternal age are more prone to have vitamin A deficiency than those with young age. It is of great significance to detect the serum vitamin A level in time to promote the health of the advanced pregnant and parturient women and the normal growth and development of the fetus.