Biomedical Research 2010; 21 (4):

A study was undertaken in four Government and Private Hospitals to assess the effect of minerals on pregnant women suffering from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Twenty four hours dietary recall was taken and the total no. of respondents i.e. 60 were divided into three income groups i.e. low income group (LIG), middle income group (MIG), high income group (HIG) and then minerals intake especially sodium, iron and calcium per day was calculated for three days and compared with recommended dietary allowances given by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR 1990). Average nutrient intake shows that the intake of sodium were above the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) whereas the intake of calcium and iron were below the RDA recommended by ICMR. The average daily dietary sodium intake of LIG respondents was 1348.76 mg/day and that of MIG respondents was 1294.20 mg/day and HIG it was 1106.8 mg/day. The more consumption of sodium may lead to consequences of pre-eclampsia, while low sodium intake may decrease blood pressure. Hence sodium intake should be restricted between 200-400 mg/day depending on the severity of the disease. The average daily iron intake of group I respondents was 35.30 mg/day and that of group II and group III respondents were 31.59 and 29.48 mg/day respectively. All these values were below RDA values. The average daily calcium intake of group I respondents was 670.12 mg/day and that of group II and group III respondents were 542.98 and 822.26 mg/day respectively, both were below the RDA values. Statistical analysis shows a significant difference in the consumption of calcium, iron and sodium among the three income groups.