Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum zinc status of pregnant women in the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (CACDNS) in 2015–2016. Methods: A total of 7147 apparently healthy pregnant women were randomly selected in 302 national monitoring sites. Information on age, race, residence region, education, pregnancy, and family income per annum was collected, and the concentration of serum zinc was determined. The evaluation of serum zinc status was further performed according to the recommendations by the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). Results: The median concentration of serum zinc was 858.9 μg/L with an interquartile range (IQR) of 712.9 μg/L and 1048.9 μg/L, while the overall prevalence of zinc deficiency was 3.5% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 3.0% and 3.9%. Serum zinc status of pregnant women changed greatly in the different categories, particular in pregnancy and family income per annum (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of zinc deficiency (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The lower prevalence of zinc deficiency generally indicated a better zinc status for pregnant women in the CACDNS in 2015–2016. However, a well-designed evaluation system of zinc status for pregnant women should be continually optimized and improved by inducing more parameters such as biochemical, dietary, or functional indicators.
Highlights
Zinc is generally considered as the most important trace element that functions as a catalyst, structural element and regulatory role in numerous metabolic processes, includingDNA transcription and gene expression, signal transduction, and endocrine function [1].To date, it was reported that zinc is mainly involved in over 300 enzymes and more than 2000 transcription factors
We observed that serum zinc concentration varied slightly, associating with increased age, alteration of race and residence region, increased educational levels, and gestational age, as well as with family income per annum
Serum zinc status significantly decreased with increased gestational age but positively elevated and accompanied with increased family income per annum (p < 0.05)
Summary
Zinc is generally considered as the most important trace element that functions as a catalyst, structural element and regulatory role in numerous metabolic processes, includingDNA transcription and gene expression, signal transduction, and endocrine function [1].To date, it was reported that zinc is mainly involved in over 300 enzymes and more than 2000 transcription factors. Zinc is generally considered as the most important trace element that functions as a catalyst, structural element and regulatory role in numerous metabolic processes, including. Zinc deficiency can cause multiple dysfunctions and health hazards including stunted growth, cognitive impairment, poor pregnancy outcomes, and increased infections [2]. If zinc intake is inadequate before pregnancy, zinc deficiency could be exacerbated due to increased various requirements for hematopoiesis, growth, and fetal development, further resulting in a series of more adverse birth outcomes including intrauterine growth retardation, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and increased morbidity and mortality of the fetus [5,6]. Albeit of well-known multiple detrimental consequences for zinc deficiency, there still is a paucity of such data to describe zinc nutritional status in
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