Vitamin B3 levels in women who experience first‐trimester miscarriage

Miscarriage is the most common complication in early pregnancy. It was recently reported in mice that miscarriage can be prevented through the administration of niacin. We conducted a prospective, exploratory pilot study involving 24 women who were less than 14 weeks pregnant. Neither niacin intake ( P  = 0.24) nor urinary vitamin B3 measured as the 1‐methyl‐5‐carboxylamide‐2‐pyridone/ N ‐1‐methylnicotinamide (2‐pyr/MNA) ratio ( P  = 1.00) predicted miscarriage. However, the difference in mean 2‐pyr/MNA ratios between women who miscarried and controls suggests there may be a threshold niacin level protective in miscarriage prevention warranting further investigation.