scholarly journals Selected Micronutrients: An Option to Boost Immunity against COVID-19 and Prevent Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Pregnant Women: A Narrative Review

Author(s):  
NAWSHERWAN NAWSHERWAN ◽  
Suliman KHAN ◽  
Falak ZEB ◽  
Muhammad SHOAIB ◽  
Ghulam NABI ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) negatively affects immune system. It is linked with adverse pregnancy outcomes. These complications may be linked with the infections mediated deficiency of micronutrients in pregnant women. COVID-19 cause’s malabsorption of micronutrients thereby increases the risk of their deficiency. Both micronutrients deficiencies and poor micronutrients intake can compromise immune function and may increase the risk of pregnancy complications associated with COVID-19 infection. Vitamin A, C, D, E, and selected minerals iron (Fe), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) are the micronutrients essential for immuno-competency and play a significant role in the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Immune function and pregnancy outcomes can be improved by adequate intake of micronutrients in diet or in supplements form. Based on regulatory links between viral infection, micronutrients, immunity, and pregnancy outcomes, this review highlights the role of micronutrients in boosting immunity to reduce or prevent pregnancy complications in COVID-19 infected women.

2018 ◽  
Vol 103 (8) ◽  
pp. 2936-2948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Rostami ◽  
Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani ◽  
Masoumeh Simbar ◽  
Razieh Bidhendi Yarandi ◽  
Sonia Minooee ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Despite evidence on the association between hypovitaminosis D and adverse pregnancy outcomes and the positive impact of vitamin D supplementation, no evidence exists supporting a universal screening program in pregnancy as part of routine prenatal care. Objective We sought to determine the effectiveness of a prenatal screening program on optimizing 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and preventing pregnancy complications. Also, to identify a safe regimen, we compared several regimens in a subgroup of vitamin D–deficient pregnant women. Design Two cities of Masjed-Soleyman and Shushtar from Khuzestan province, Iran, were selected as the screening and nonscreening arms, respectively. Within the screening arm, a randomized controlled trial was conducted on 800 pregnant women. Setting Health centers of Masjed-Soleyman and Shushtar cities. Patients or Participants Pregnant women aged 18 to 40 years. Intervention Women with moderate [25(OH)D, 10 to 20 ng/mL] and severe [25(OH)D, <10 ng/mL] deficiency were randomly divided into four subgroups and received vitamin D3 (D3) until delivery. Main Outcome Measure Maternal concentration of 25(OH)D at delivery and rate of pregnancy complications Results After supplementation, only 2% of the women in the nonscreening site met the sufficiency level (>20 ng/mL) vs 53% of the women in the screening site. Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, and preterm delivery, were decreased by 60%, 50%, and 40%, respectively, in the screening site. A D3 injection in addition to monthly 50,000 IU maintenance therapy contributed the most to achievement of sufficient levels at delivery. Conclusions A prenatal vitamin D screening and treatment program is an effective approach in detecting deficient women, improving 25(OH)D levels, and decreasing pregnancy adverse outcomes.


Author(s):  
Ruirong Chen ◽  
Shaofen Zhang ◽  
Sheng Su ◽  
Haiyan Ye ◽  
Haihua Shu

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen responsible for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Because it is a new and highly contagious coronavirus, most people, especially pregnant women, lack immunity. It is therefore important to understand the interaction between why pregnant women are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and the specific immune systems of pregnant women. Here, we provide an overview of the changes that occur in the immune system during pregnancy, the activation and response of the immune system in pregnant women with COVID-19, adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19, and the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in this population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Marwa Saadaoui ◽  
Duaa Ahmed Elhag ◽  
Selvasankar Murugesan ◽  
Shaikha Al Abduljabbar ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Pregnancy is governed by multiple molecular and cellular processes, which might influence pregnancy health and outcomes. Failure to predict and understand the cause of pregnancy complications, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infant’s morbidity and mortality, have limited effective interventions. Integrative multi-omics technologies provide an unbiased platform to explore the complex molecular interactions with an unprecedented depth. The objective of the present protocol is to build a longitudinal mother-baby cohort and use multi-omics technologies to help identify predictive biomarkers of adverse pregnancy outcomes, early life determinants and their effect on child health. Methods/design : One thousand pregnant women with a viable pregnancy in the first trimester (6–14 weeks of gestation) will be recruited from Sidra Medicine hospital. All the study participants will be monitored every trimester, at delivery, and one-year post-partum. Serial high-frequency sampling, including blood, stool, urine, saliva, skin, and vaginal swabs (mother only) from the pregnant women and their babies, will be collected. Maternal and neonatal health, including mental health and perinatal growth, will be recorded using a combination of questionnaires, interviews, and medical records. Downstream sample processing including microbial profiling, vaginal immune response, blood transcriptomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics will be performed. Discussion It is expected that the present study will provide valuable insights into predicting pregnancy complications and neonatal health outcomes. Those include whether specific microbial and/or epigenomics signatures, immune profiles are associated with a healthy pregnancy and/or complicated pregnancy and poor neonatal health outcome. Moreover, this non-interventional cohort will also serve as a baseline dataset to understand how familial, socioeconomic, environmental and lifestyle factors interact with genetic determinants to influence health outcomes later in life. These findings will hold promise for the diagnosis and precision-medicine interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110343
Author(s):  
Sewitemariam Desalegn Andarge ◽  
Abriham Sheferaw Areba ◽  
Robel Hussen Kabthymer ◽  
Miheret Tesfu Legesse ◽  
Girum Gebremeskel Kanno

Background Indoor air pollution from different fuel types has been linked with different adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to assess the link between indoor air pollution from different fuel types and anemia during pregnancy in Ethiopia. Method We have used the secondary data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data. The anemia status of the pregnant women was the dichotomous outcome variable and the type of fuel used in the house was classified as high, medium, and low polluting fuels. Logistic regression was employed to determine the association between the exposure and outcome variables. Adjusted Odds Ratio was calculated at 95% Confidence Interval. Result The proportion of anemia in the low, medium, and high polluting fuel type users was 13.6%, 46%, 40.9% respectively. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, the use of either kerosene or charcoal fuel types (AOR 4.6; 95% CI: 1.41-18.35) and being in the third trimester (AOR 1.72; 95% CI: 1.12-2.64) were significant factors associated with the anemia status of the pregnant women in Ethiopia. Conclusion According to our findings, the application of either kerosene or charcoal was associated with the anemia status during pregnancy in Ethiopia. An urgent intervention is needed to reduce the indoor air pollution that is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as anemia.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Mozaffari ◽  
AH Abdolghaffari ◽  
S Nikfar ◽  
M Abdollahi

Several studies have indicated the harmful effect of flare-up periods in pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on their newborns. Therefore, an effective and safe medical treatment during pregnancy is of great concern in IBD patients. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis on the outcomes of thiopurines use and a systematic review of antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs used during pregnancy in women with IBD. The results of cohorts evaluating the safety of anti-TNF drugs during pregnancy up to July 2013 were collected and analyzed. In the meta-analysis, a total of 312 pregnant women with IBD who used thiopurines were compared with 1149 controls (women with IBD who were not treated with any medication and women who were exposed to drugs other than thiopurines) to evaluate the drug effect on different pregnancy outcomes, including prematurity, low birth weight, congenital abnormalities, spontaneous abortion, and neonatal adverse outcomes. Results of statistical analysis demonstrated that congenital abnormalities were increased significantly in thiopurine-exposed group in comparison with control group who did not receive any medicine for IBD treatment. The summary odds ratio was 2.95 with 95% confidence interval = 1.03–8.43 ( p = 0.04). We observed no significant differences in occurrence of other adverse pregnancy outcomes between compared groups. The results of cohorts evaluated the safety of anti-TNF drugs during pregnancy demonstrated no increase in occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in comparison with controls except for the significant decrease in gestational age of newborns of drug-exposed mothers in one trial. In conclusion, a benefit–risk ratio should be considered in prescribing or continuing medicinal therapy during pregnancy of IBD patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-Hao Huang ◽  
Ting-Ting Peng ◽  
Sheng-Guang Yan ◽  
Dong-Dong Yu ◽  
Jun-Chao Qiu ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Aim to the relationship between adverse pregnant outcomes with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women. Simultaneously, assess the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO) among different serum HBV status in pregnant women. Method: From 2017 to 2019, we studied HBsAg (+) pregnant women and HBsAg (-) who gave birth at our hospital in Guangzhou City, China. We compared of the incidence of pregnant women with HBsAg(+) or HBsAg(-). Further, among HBsAg(+) pregnant women, We compared of the incidence of pregnant women with HBeAg(+) group or HBeAg(-) group, high HBV DNA loads (HBV DNA≥2×10^5IU/mL) group or low HBV DNA loads (HBV DNA<2×10^5IU/mL) group, respectively. Finally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independent association between HBV infection and the risk of developing APO.Result: First, Our research Indicates that the rates of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), premature rupture of membrane (PROM), Fetal distress (FD), Oligohydramnios, Premature delivery (PD), Low birth weight (LBW), Meconium contamination (MC), Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia(NH) in HBsAg(+) group were higher than those in HBsAg(-) group (P<0.05). Second, among 711 HBsAg(+) pregnant women, the rates of GDM and ICP in high loads of HBV DNA were higher than those in low loads of HBV DNA group (P<0.05). Similarly, The rates of ICP in HBeAg(+) group were higher than those in HBeAg(-) group. Further, through multivariable logistical regression model analysis, we observed maternal HBsAg carrier (OR, 6.758; 95% CI, 2.358-19.369) had an independent risk for ICP. Similarly, HBsAg carrier(OR, 1.101; 95% CI, 1.066-1.137) ,advanced age (OR, 1.407; 95% CI,1.016-1.137) and abortion(OR,1.446; 95% CI, 1.062-1.969) had independent risk for GDM. Conclusions: Chronic HBV infection can increase the rate of host adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO). The maternal viral load and HBeAg status were significantly associated with the incidence of GDM and ICP. Maternal HBsAg carrier had an independent risk for GDM and ICP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farideh Kazemi ◽  
Seyedeh Zahra Masoumi ◽  
Arezoo Shayan ◽  
Seyedeh Zahra Shahidi Yasaghi

Abstract Background The results of some studies have indicated the association between food insecurity and certain adverse pregnancy outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in pregnant women and its association with pregnancy outcomes and complications. Methods The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 772 mothers who visited comprehensive health service centers during the first 10 days after delivery in 2018. The tools included the demographic and midwifery information questionnaire and an 18-item questionnaire devised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The significance level was considered to be 0.05. Results 67.5% of pregnant women had food insecurity. The multivariate analysis showed that birth weight decreased with the increase in the severity of food insecurity, but the reduction was not statistically significant. Based on the results, food insecurity had no statistically significant impact on the mothers’ weight gain pattern (p = 0.13). The risk of hypertension/preeclampsia and anemia was not related to food insecurity. Compared with the food-secure group, the probability of gestational diabetes was 56% lower in the food-insecure group without hunger and 61% lower in the food-insecure group with moderate hunger; however, in the food-insecure group with severe hunger, this probability was 1.5 times more than the food-secure group, which is not statistically significant. Conclusions The prevalence of food insecurity was high in pregnant women. Maternal weight gains during pregnancy and birth weight (despite being statistically insignificant) were affected by this condition; therefore, it is necessary to identify women with food insecurity on their first pregnancy visit; it is also crucial to take steps towards improving their health through allocating a family food basket and nutritional support for these women at least during pregnancy. Due to the limited sample size and inability to control the potential confounders, the association between food insecurity during pregnancy and the incidence of pregnancy complications could not be reached, hence the need for more studies.


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