Study of Antioxidants Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid level in Pre-eclampsia and Normotensive Pregnant Women Attending the Antenatal Department of a Rural Hospital in Imo State South East Nigeria

Background: Deficiencies of nutrition are common during pregnancy especially in developing countries. Pregnant women in developing countries have been reported to consume diets that are low in minerals and vitamins. Inadequate dietary intake during pregnancy might be a high risk not only for the mother but also for the fetus. Deficiencies of antioxidant vitamins have been implicated in various reproductive disorders like infertility, congenital anomalies, pre-eclampsia, placental abruption, premature rupture of membranes, still births and low birth weight.

Objective/Aim: This investigation was performed to compare the level of serum antioxidant vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid status in women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy in Imo State. It was a randomized cross sectional study of 50 preeclampsia and 50 normotensive pregnant women attending the Dept. of Medicine and Antenatal clinic of specialist Hospital Umuguma, Owerri Imo State Nigeria. The study protocol was reviewed and the ethical committee and participants gave their consent. Data analysis was done using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. P-value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: The mean antioxidant vitamins E and C were significantly lower in the preeclampsia group (0.29±0.07 and 0.31±0.20mg/dl) against the control (0.64±0.16 and 0.89±0.27mg/dl) P<0.05 respectively.

Conclusion: The study showed significant decrease in the level of vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid suggesting the failure of compensatory antioxidant functions in preeclampsia women.