Retinol concentration in maternal and cord serum:
its relation to birth weight in healthy
mother–infant pairs
Elyahu Gazala
a
, Batia Sarov
b
, Eli Hershkovitz
a
,
Shimon Edvardson
b
, David Sklan
c
, Miriam Katz
d
,
Michael Friger
b
, Rafael Gorodischer
a,
*
a
Department of Pediatrics ‘‘A’’, Soroka University Medical Center, P.O. Box 151, Beersheba 84101, Israel
b
Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
c
Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel
d
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Beersheba, Israel
Accepted 1 October 2002
Abstract
Background: Vitamin A is an essential micronutrient for the development and growth of the
fetus. The objective of this study was to identify a possible association between low serum retinol
and birth weight in healthy mother –infant pairs in Southern Israel. A secondary objective was to
examine ethnic differences in maternal and cord serum retinol. Methods: Serum retinol was
measured at delivery from pairs of healthy mothers and healthy mature newborns. Results: Of the
313 mother – infant pairs studied, 56% were Jews and 44% Bedouins. The proportion of infants
with birth weight of 2500 –2999 g was greater among mothers with lower serum retinol (< 0.7
Amol/l) compared to mothers with normal serum retinol (z 0.7 Amol/l) ( p < 0.001). Cord retinol
< 0.7 Amol/l was more frequent in infants with birth weight 2500 –2990 g compared to infants with
birth weight z 3000 g ( p = 0.006). Using a split model and stepwise multiple regression analysis,
infant’s birth weight was significantly influenced by cord retinol concentration in infants born to
mothers with low serum retinol; gestational age and cord retinol alone explained 27% of the
variability of birth weight in this group. A higher proportion of Bedouin than Jewish infants had
serum retinol < 0.7 and < 0.35 Amol/l (both p < 0.001). Conclusion: Low cord and maternal serum
0378-3782/02/$ - see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0378-3782(02)00096-8
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972-7-6400546; fax: +972-7-6400016.
E-mail address: rafaelg@bgumail.bgu.ac.il (R. Gorodischer).
www.elsevier.com/locate/earlhumdev
Early Human Development 71 (2003) 19–28