Prospective study on role of folic acid and vitamin B12 in early pregnancy and spontaneous abortion

Abstract

Background: Vitamin B12 maintains normal folate metabolism during pregnancy. Maternal folate status has been associated with various adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study is to predict the risk of abortion in early pregnancy by studying the relation between folate, Vitamin B12 levels, and rate of abortion. This prospective, observational study was carried out on 100 pregnant women with singleton pregnancy of 6–12 weeks of gestation. Methods: The patients were divided into three groups, namely, Group 1 (control group) comprising of 30 normal pregnant women with no history of abortion; Group 2 (control group) comprising of 35 pregnant females with history of previous abortion; and Group 3 (study group) comprising of 35 pregnant women were coming with chief complaint of bleeding per vaginum. About 5 ml blood was taken and serum was separated using centrifugation. Serum folate and Vitamin B12 levels were estimated by chemiluminescence. Data so obtained were computed as mean + standard deviation and SPSS/ANOVA was applied. Results: Serum folate and Serum B12 levels were comparable in all the three groups and the difference was statistically significant. 26.66%, 37.13%, and 31.42% patients had folate deficiency in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Out of which, 3.33%, 5.71%, and 5.71% patients aborted from folate deficient Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Thus, folate deficiency was not found to be associated with abortion (P = 0.944). Patients with Vitamin B12 deficiency were 73.33%, 82.85%, and 37.13% in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively; out of which 3.33% patients from Group 1, 8.57% from Group 2, and 2.85% patients from Group 3 were aborted. Correlation between maternal serum B12 deficiency and abortion was found to be insignificant (P = 0.551). Conclusion: A positive correlation was seen between serum folate and B12 levels. All females planning for conception should be given folate and Vitamin B12 supplementation.