Is Diabetes Associated with Lower Vitamin C Status in Pregnant Women? A Prospective Study

What is it about?

The importance of adequately supplied micronutrients for normal pregnancy and fetal development is well-described [1]. During pregnancy, increased maternal intakes of vitamin C (vitC) are needed to maintain vitC status as the growing fetus relies completely on sufficient transplacental supply. Thus, e.g. the Nordic and US authorities recommend that pregnant women increase their daily intake of vitC from 75 to 85mg during pregnancy and even further during lactation [2, 3]. Normally, vitC is actively transported to the fetus achieving higher concentrations than the mother. Maternal vitC decreases early in pregnancy most likely because of plasma volume expansion and later due to preferential placental transport and rapid fetal growth [4]. Studies have shown that poor vitC status leads to fetal oxidative stress and impaired placental implantation, which in turn is thought to increase risk of malformations and miscarriages. In diabetic animals experimental data support the amelioration of these risks by vitC [5]. Oxidative stress is thought to be involved in the development of diabetic complications and indeed diabetic patients are known to have lower vitC status than healthy individuals [6,7]. Few studies have examined vitC status in diabetic pregnancy and no comparison between normal and diabetic pregnancies has been identified [8]. It is further envisaged that the use of mineral supplements will promote good health in diabetic subjects [9]. The aim of the present study was to evaluate vitC status prospectively during pregnancy in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and their neonates using non-diabetic women as controls.

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