Serum zinc levels amongst pregnant women in a rural block of Haryana state, India.

INTRODUCTION Zinc deficiency is wide spread in developing countries. Its deficiency during pregnancy has been documented to be associated with growth retardation, congenital abnormalities, and low birth weight. Limited community based data is available on the serum zinc levels during pregnancy from Haryana State, India. Hence the present study was undertaken. METHODS A community based cross sectional study was conducted amongst 283 pregnant women with gestational age of 28 weeks or more. Each pregnant woman was inquired about her age, obstetric profile, socio-economic status, and other demographic parameters by utilizing a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Blood from the antecubital vein was drawn to assess the serum zinc levels utilizing the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Nutrient intake was assessed by the standard 24-hr dietary recall method. Statistical tests were applied to the data collected. RESULTS Mean serum zinc level was 61.1+/-16.6 microg/dL. Almost 64.6% of the women had zinc deficiency. The dietary data revealed that 58.9 % of the women were consuming calories less that 75% of the recommended, indicating an overall poor food intake. Dietary zinc intake revealed that 86.2 % of the women were consuming less than 50% of the recommended (15 mg). A high prevalence of zinc deficiency (64.6%) was found amongst the pregnant women possibly due to the low dietary intake of zinc. There is a need to undertake multi-centric studies in various parts of the country to assess the serum zinc levels, magnitude of zinc deficiency and factors leading to zinc deficiency amongst pregnant women in India.