(P18-001-23) Determining the Relationship Between Maternal Diabetes Status During Pregnancy and Vitamin A Levels in Mother-Infant Dyads at Time of Delivery

Objectives: Vitamin A deficiency has been shown to be associated with gestational diabetes in some populations, however, this relationship has not been explored in a US Midwestern cohort. As vitamin A is critical for the growth and development of the fetus the objective of this research was to investigate the status of maternal and cord plasma vitamin A levels at the time of birth in diabetic mothers (chronic diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes).

Methods: An IRB-approved study enrolled 281 women at delivery for the collection of biological samples and electronic health data. Maternal and cord plasma vitamin A levels were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Maternal and cord plasma vitamin A levels of >300.8 mcg/L was labeled as adequate whereas < 300.8 mcg/L was considered inadequate. Plasma vitamin A levels were compared between diabetic mothers (chronic DM or gestational DM) and non-diabetic mothers using the Chi-Square test and Mann-Whitney U test; a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Out of 281 women, 25 (8.8%) had diabetes. Vitamin A levels were inadequate in 47% of all maternal serum samples. The median vitamin A level was not different between women with and without diabetes (279.35 mcg/L vs 306.70 mcg/L, p=0.327). The proportion of vitamin A deficiency was also not significant between groups (46% vs 56%, p=0.363) for non-diabetic and diabetic. In contrast cord serum vitamin A levels were inadequate in 95% of samples. The median cord vitamin A level was also not found to be different between women with and without diabetes (152.24 mcg/L vs 172.36 mcg/L, p=0.220). The proportion of vitamin A deficiency was not significant between groups (95% vs 95%, p=1.00) for non-diabetic and diabetic.

Conclusions: Our study did not find any significant association between maternal diabetes status and maternal and cord serum vitamin A levels. This finding contrasted with the finding proposed by a prospective cohort study in China claiming that there is a negative association between maternal serum vitamin A level and gestational diabetes. Further studies are required to assess the association between diabetes, retinol-binding protein, and serum retinol level.

Funding Sources: Child Health Research Institute, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center