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Low‐normal serum selenium early in human pregnancy predicts lower birth weight
Author(s) -
Kemp Francis,
Chen Xinhua,
StagnaroGreen Alex,
Stein T Peter,
Scholl Theresa O,
Bogden John D
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a717
Subject(s) - medicine , selenium , pregnancy , thyroid function , birth weight , gestational age , obstetrics , selenium deficiency , physiology , low birth weight , endocrinology , thyroid , chemistry , biology , genetics , catalase , oxidative stress , organic chemistry , glutathione peroxidase
Low dietary selenium may exacerbate iodine deficiency and compromise thyroid function. We studied relationships among selenium nutrition, thyroid function, and pregnancy outcomes by conducting a case‐control study nested within a cohort of young, healthy women participating in the Camden (NJ) Study, a 20‐year ongoing investigation of effects of maternal nutrition on pregnancy outcomes. Cases were 107 women who delivered pre‐term and controls were 126 women who delivered full‐term neonates. The mean gestational age at blood collection was 15.6 ± 0.6 weeks (mean ± SE). All subjects had a serum selenium concentration within the laboratory normal range (7.0–16.0 μg/dL). Serum selenium concentrations were higher in cigarette smokers, but were not significantly associated with preterm delivery or serum TSH. Neonates born to mothers in the lowest decile of serum selenium (decile median =8.57 μg/dL=1.09 μmol/L) had significantly lower birth weights (β = −259 ± 100 g) compared to those in the 9 highest deciles. For the subgroups of full‐term and pre‐term neonates maternal serum selenium and birth weight were significantly associated only for the full‐term deliveries. For full‐term pregnancies low‐normal serum selenium in the first or second trimester predicts substantially lower birth weight, but prematurity masks this relationship. The effects of selenium do not appear to be mediated by effects on thyroid function. Supported by NIH HD38329