(35) Assessing Carotenoid Intake in Pregnant Women Based on Adequacy of Dietary Vitamin A Intake

Anum Akbar, University of nebraska Medical center, Omaha, NE, United States; Matthew VanOrmer, University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States; Melissa Thoene, University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States; Rebecca Slotkowski, University of Nebraska Medical center, United States; Taija M Hahka, University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States; Corrine Hanson, University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States; Ann Anderson-Berry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States

Background: Vitamin A is an essential nutrient during pregnancy responsible for a variety of functions, including cell differentiation, proliferation, and organ development in the fetus. Over 19 million pregnant women worldwide suffer from Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) during pregnancy. Dietary preformed Vitamin A (retinol and retinyl ester) and pro-vitamin A carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin) remain the main source of vitamin A for pregnant women. Non-provitamin A carotenoids (lycopene and lutein) also have important protective effects, acting as potent antioxidants in tissues such as the macular region of retina; however, the role of these carotenoids during pregnancy has not been established.

Objectives: To investigate the intake levels of pro-vitamin carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin) and non-provitamin carotenoids (lycopene and lutein) in pregnant women with adequate dietary vitamin A intake vs. those with inadequate vitamin A intake.

Design/Methods: An IRB-approved study enrolled 496 pregnant women at delivery and assessed their gestational dietary intake using the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire. Vitamin A intake was measured via Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE, mcg/day), with adequacy defined as 770 mcg/day. Daily intake of pro-vitamin A carotenoids and non-pro-vitamin A carotenoids were compared between mothers with adequate RAE intake vs deficient RAE intake using the Mann-Whitney U test, and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Average RAE and carotenoid intakes are found in Table 1. Women with adequate RAE intake showed higher intake of pro-vitamin A carotenoids compared to women with deficient RAE intake (5500 vs 2200 mcg/day: p-value < 0.05). Interestingly, concentration of lutein was also two-fold higher (2530 vs 1300 mcg/day: p-value < 0.05) in women with adequate RAE intake than in women with inadequate RAE intake (Figure 1).

Conclusion: Approximately 1/3rd of our pregnant study participants showed inadequate RAE intake. Our data indicates that intake of non-pro-vitamin A carotenoid (such as lutein) differ based on adequate RAE intake, suggesting an opportunity for nutritional interventions during pregnancy. There is a need of future studies to better understand the impact of these carotenoids on both maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes.