Enzymic evaluation of thiamin, riboflavin and pyridoxine status of parturient mothers and their newborn infants in a Mediterranean area of Spain

Objective: To determine the biochemical status of thiamin, riboflavin and p yridoxine in parturient mothers and their newborn infants in a Mediterranea n region. Design: Transveral study. Setting: St Joan University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine & Health Scien ces, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain. Subjects: 131 healthy parturient mothers, with normal pregnancies and deliv eries in St Joan University Hospital, and their newborn infants. Interventions: Erythrocyte haemolysates were prepared from maternal blood a t delivery and infants' umbilical cord blood and used to measure micronutri ent status using the transketolase, glutathione reductase and aspartate ami notransferase coenzyme stimulation tests. Results: Maternal and infant coenzyme activities were significantly correla ted, but infant coenzyme status was better than maternal, with significantl y higher basal and stimulated activity (P i 0.001) and significantly lower activation coefficients (P i 0.001). Inadequate thiamin, riboflavin or pyri doxine status occured in 38.2 - 62.6% (50 - 82) of the mothers and 3.1 - 37 .4% (4-49) of the infants; 85.2% (46/54), 12.9% (4/31) and 24.1% (12/54) of infants born to mothers with biochemical deficiency of either thiamin, rib oflavin or pyridoxine, respectively also had inadequate status. Maternal de ficiencies in more than one vitamin further increased the risk of infant th iamin and pyridoxine deficiency. Maternal and infant riboflavin status were significantly correlated with fetal development (e.g, length at birth, P < 0.001). The incidence of thiamin deficiency in paturient mothers in Spain was the highest out of a 12-country comparison. Conclusions: Inadequate status for each vitamin was evident in mothers and infants. Maternal status of each individual vitamin, but especially ribofla vin, was affected by maternal status of the other vitamins. Infant thiamin status was the most adversely affected by maternal deficiencies in more tha n one vitamin. Infant riboflavin status, however, was apparently protected from adverse maternal status.