Estimation of selected micronutrients and heavy metals in pregnant women

Pregnancy is characterized by a period of rapid and profound physiological changes from conception until birth and environmental contamination with heavy metals are on the increase especially in the developing countries. This is a case-control study designed to determine the serum levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in pregnant women. One hundred and twenty (120) apparently healthy pregnant women were randomly selected (test group) and 60 non-pregnant, apparently healthy women (control group). Zn, Cu, Pd and Cd were analyzed using AAS and data generated were subjected to independent t-test and Pearson correlation respectively. Results showed that pregnant women had lower serum levels of Zn and Cd (0.025±0.006 mg/L and (0.020 ± 0.005 mg/L) compared with non-pregnant controls (0.122±0.022 mg/L and 0.064 ± 0.008 mg/L) (p<0.05). While serum levels of Cu were higher in the test group (0.075 ± 0.017 mg/L) when compared to the control group (0.032 ± 0.008 mg/L) (p<0.05). there was no difference between the serum level of lead in both the test (0.027 ± 0.011 mg/L) and the control group (0.034 ± 0.013 mg/L) (p>0.05). In conclusion, there are alterations in the serum levels of micronutrient could predispose the pregnant women to complication. Hence, there is a need to evaluate these elements in pregnancy women especially in the regions where these elements are naturally occurring.