Korean J Nutr.  2003 Mar;36(2):191-199.

A Study on Nutrient Intakes and Hematological Status in Women of Child-Bearing Age: Comparison between Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women

• Lee EJ
• Kim MH
• Cho MS
• Kim YJ
• Kim WY

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate nutritional status of Korean women of child-bearing age. A comparison was made between 113 non-pregnant and 200 pregnant women. Pregnant women of 24-28 weeks of gestation were recruited from prenatal clinic in Seoul. Nonpregnant women were included college students, nurses, office employers, and sales women. General characteristics, anthropometric measurements, dietary intakes, and hematological values were assessed. There was no difference in mean BMI for nonpregnant and pregnant (pre-gravid) women, which were 20.2 kg/m2 and 20.6 kg/m2 respectively. The pregnant women showed a tendency of better health-caring behavior, evidenced by stop smoking and drinking, and in taking nutrient supplements. The mean intakes of energy, vitamin A, vitamin B2, calcium, and iron did not meet Korean RDA for adult women. In particular, calcium and iron intakes of both nonpregnant and pregnant women were under 60% of the Korean RDA. Judging by MDA score, dietary quality was better in pregnant than in nonpregnant women. Mean serum values of albumin, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, Hb, IgA, IgG were in normal range. However, more than 13% of the nonpregnant subjects showed mild hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol>200 mg/dl) and anemia (Hb<12.0 g/dl) . The percentage of anemia in pregnant women were much higher; the subject with Hb<11.0 g/dl were approximately 30%. The pregnant subjects showed significantly higher serum concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol, and significantly lower concentrations of albumin, IgA, and IgG compared to nonpregnant women. Correlation analysis showed that Hb concentrations were correlated with the intakes of iron- and protein- containing foods such as meat and vegetables. This study strongly suggest that iron-deficient anemia is a major nutrition problem in Korean child-bearing women and this condition is correlated with dietary intakes.

Keyword

child-bearing aged women; pregnant women; nutrient intakes; anemia; mini dietary assessment (MDA) score

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anemia
Calcium
Cholesterol
Commerce
Drinking
Female
Humans
Hypercholesterolemia
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G
Iron
Meat
Nutritional Status
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women*
Reference Values
Riboflavin
Seoul
Smoke
Smoking
Triglycerides
Vegetables
Vitamin A
Calcium
Cholesterol
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G
Iron
Riboflavin
Smoke
Triglycerides
Vitamin A