Relationships of Serum Illicit Drug Concentrations During Pregnancy to Maternal Nutritional Status

Abstract

Findings reported are for a subset of African American subjects, residing in the urban area of Washington, D. C., who participated in a Program Project designed to study nutrition, other factors, and the outcome of pregnancy. Fasting blood samples, drawn during each trimester of pregnancy and at delivery, were screened for concentrations of cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP) and marijuana. Since substance abusers are expected to consume inadequate diets, these samples were also analyzed for serum folate, vitamin B12, ferritin and ascorbic acid. Data for these biochemical variables were compared for subjects whose serum values for drugs were either above or below the drug screening threshold concentrations established by ADAMHA/NIDA. Pearson's correlations were used to determine relationships between pregnancy outcome variables and maternal serum drug concentrations. Blood samples drawn at delivery showed higher maternal: cord ratios (mean +/- SEM) for marijuana (3.3 +/- 2.2) and PCP (2.9 +/- 1.0) than for cocaine (1.0 +/- 0.2). The subjects whose serum values were above the ADAMHA/NIDA ranges for marijuana, PCP and cocaine had concentrations of folate and ferritin that were significantly less than those of subjects with lower serum drug levels (P < or = 0.05). High maternal serum concentrations of illicit drugs were accompanied by a significant increase in leukocyte count (P < or = 0.05). The level of maternal cocaine during the third trimester was inversely correlated with birthweight (r = -0.29; n = 52; P = 0.038) and head circumference (r = -0.28; n = 52; P = 0.047).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)