The study was published in the journal The forefront of nutritionLed by researchers from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed and revealed a significant association between high blood vitamin E concentration and a reduced risk of spontaneous abortion (SA).
Furthermore, increased genetic predisposition to higher blood levels of vitamin B12 conferred a protective effect against stillbirth (SB). However, no association was found between folate and preterm birth (PTB), SA, or SB. None of the minerals or vitamins influenced the development of gestational hypertension (GH), PTB, or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
By establishing a causal link between circulating vitamins and pregnancy complications, this study highlights the potential benefits of nutrition-based strategies to prevent adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
Furthermore, we advocate for the need for early micronutrient screening and preventive measures to reduce pregnancy complications. These findings may guide clinicians in prescribing appropriate micronutrient supplementation to prevent pregnancy complications.
The role of micronutrients in pregnancy complications
Evidence that micronutrients are effective in reducing pregnancy complications is inconclusive: for example, a meta-analysis showed that vitamin B12 deficiency increases the risk of PTB, while a randomized controlled trial (RCT) found no significant benefit from multivitamin supplementation.
Numerous studies have shown that increasing folic acid intake from supplements reduces the risk of SA, whereas other studies claim that vitamin supplements have no effect on the risk of early miscarriage. These conflicting results may be due to demographic and methodological differences.
Research Details
A two-sample MR method was used to infer the causal relationship between circulating micronutrients and pregnancy complications.Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data were retrieved from the GWAS Catalogue Consortium and PubMed databases to obtain relevant information on minerals and vitamins.
Five common pregnancy complications were identified from data from the UK Biobank and FinnGen Consortium: GDM, GH, SA, PTB, and SB. The causal effects of micronutrients were determined using the inverse variance weighted method (IVW), the MR-Egger method, and the weighted median method (WM).
Although the exact pathophysiological mechanisms of vitamin E’s effects on SA are not fully understood, scientists have put forward several hypotheses.
A zebrafish model study showed that vitamin E deficiency increases lipid peroxidation of phosphatidylcholine-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA-PC), increases betaine, and decreases choline production, which disrupts the methionine cycle and one-carbon metabolism associated with vitamin B12 and folate, decreasing DNA methylation and synthesis, leading to neural tube defects and other pregnancy complications, the authors wrote.
In the future, the results of this study should be validated using well-designed RCTs and larger GWAS datasets.
sauce: The forefront of nutrition
Translation: doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1334974
“Association of circulating minerals and vitamins with pregnancy complications: a Mendelian randomization study.”
Author: Xie Y et al.
