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Latest on pregnancy micronutrients: new data on iodine status
Dr Emma Derbyshire PhD RNutr (Public Health) Nutritional Insight Ltd
Iodine is important for pregnancy as it helps make thyroid hormones needed for growth, metabolism and babies’ brain development. Now, new work has measured the iodine status of pregnant mums in the UK. The SPRINT (Selenium in PRegnancy INTervention) trials recruited a sample of 230 women and took spoturine samples at weeks 12, 20 and 35 of pregnancy. The iodine-to-creatine ratio (a measure of iodine deficiency) was also measured. Mean iodine concentration from all time points was 56.8μg/L and the iodineto-creatinine ratio was 116μg/g, indicat-
ing that women were mildly to moderately iodine deficient in each trimester. Only 3.0% of women took prenatal supplements containing iodine. On the whole, these findings indicate that this group of pregnant women were mildly to moderately iodine deficient at all trimesters, which is concerning. More studies in other populations are now needed.
Vitamin D and anaemia link?
There is heightened awareness about vitamin D deficiency. As this may also come hand in hand with diseases that involve inflammatory processes, it seems likely that anaemia could also follow. New work has looked into this. A large cross-sectional study of 638 healthy American adults measured vita-
min D (25(OH)D) status and anaemia incidence. Results found that black Americans with serum 25(OH)D) levels less than <50nmol/l had an increased likelihood of anaemia with inflammation. Taken together, these results indicate that individuals with darker skin, poor vitamin D status and inflammation are at greatest risk of having anaemia. For more information, see Smith EM et al (2015). British Journal of Nutrition Vol 113, Issue 11, pg 1732-40.
Magnesium & gestational diabetes
Dr Emma Derbyshire is a freelance nutritionist and former senior academic. Her interests include pregnancy and public health. www.nutritionalinsight.co.uk hello@nutritionalinsight.co.uk
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The number of women developing diabetes in pregnancy is on the rise. While conventional treatments are one option, emerging evidence suggests a possible role for magnesium supplements. Seventy pregnant women with diabetes were randomly allocated to take: 250mg magnesium oxide or a placebo for six weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Results showed that fasting plasma glucose levels and serum insulin levels were significantly lower (P ≤ 0.001)
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amongst women who took the magnesium, compared with the placebo by the end of the study. Overall, the findings from this trial indicate a possible role for magnesium in the management of gestational diabetes. More work is now needed to better understand how magnesium exerts its actions. For more information, see: Bath SC et al (2015). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 101 no 6, pg. 1180-7 and Asemi Z et al (2015). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 102 no 1, pg. 222-29.
