INTERACTION BETWEEN VITAMIN-A AND IRON - EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTS IN PREGNANCY

Very few reports are available on the vitamin A status of Indian pregn ant women in the rural population. The present study was carried out t o assess the vitamin A status and the effect of vitamin A and iron sup plementation in pregnancy on serum vitamin A levels in the rural women . Ir was observed that serum vitamin A levels showed a marginal decrea se with advancing gestation. Though satisfactory as per WHO guidelines , supplementation with 60 mg of iron prevented this decrease. A higher dose of iron (120 mg) actually resulted in a similar vitamin A status as seen in vitamin A supplemented women. If this preliminary study ca n be confirmed it would appear that interactions between vitamin A and iron in pregnancy have a positive effect on the vitamin A nutriture.