Anaemia and Some Micronutrient Levels among Pregnant Women of African Descent in Sokoto North Western, Nigeria.

Abstract

Anaemia in pregnancy is a serious public health issue worldwide which pose a great impact on the health of the foetus and the mother. Serum levels of copper, zinc, and manganese during pregnancy are known to have effects on pregnant women and their neonates. Blood samples were collected from 150 healthy pregnant women aged 17-45 years and 100 age- matched, non-pregnant women were monitored as controls. This was a cross sectional study aimed to determining packed cell volume and some micronutrient levels among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Specialist Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria. Packed cell volume (PCV) was determined using standard manual method. Serum levels of copper, zinc, and manganese were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometric methods. The prevalence of anaemia observed among the study subjects was 12 (8%) and non-anaemic was 138 (92%). The result indicated that the serum levels of copper, zinc and were significantly lower in pregnant women compared to their corresponding values in non-pregnant control (p=0.0001) respectively, whereas the level of serum manganese was significantly increased in pregnant women compared to the control (p=0.0122). The micronutrient levels among pregnant women were compared based on trimester. In the third trimester, the mean serum level of zinc was significantly decreased in pregnant women group than the other trimesters and control group. The mean serum levels of copper and manganese were significantly reduced among pregnant women in the first trimesters compared to the second and third trimester as well as the non-pregnant controls. In conclusion, the serum levels of copper, zinc, manganese were adequate in the study subjects of healthy pregnant women. The anaemia observed in some of the pregnant women included in this study had no significant consequences on the pregnancy. This study advocates for targeted micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women in the area. Laboratory parameters for the diagnosis of anaemia and micronutrients should be included in antenatal care plan for pregnant women in the area to
improve their health condition.