Zinc and copper levels in low birth weight deliveries in Medani Hospital, Sudan

Abstract

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is a worldwide health problem, especially in developing countries. We conducted a case-control study at Medani Hospital, Sudan. Cases were women who delivered a LBW (<2500 g) newborn and consecutive women who delivered a normal weight (>2500 g) newborn were controls. Questionnaires were used to collect clinical data. Zinc and copper levels were measured by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Findings. The two groups (50 in each arm) were well matched in their basic characteristics. Median (25-75th interquartile range) maternal zinc (62.9 [36.3-96.8] vs. 96.2 [84.6-125.7] μg/dl; P <0.001) and copper (81.6 [23.7-167.5] vs. 139.8 [31.9-186.2] μg/dl; P = 0.04) levels were significantly lower in cases than in controls. Cord copper levels in cases were significantly lower than those in controls (108 [55.1-157.9] vs. 147.5 [84.5-185.2] μg/dl; P = 0.02). There were significant direct correlations between birth weight and maternal copper levels and maternal and cord zinc levels. Conclusions: Maternal zinc and copper levels, as well as cord copper levels, are lower in LBW newborns than in those with normal weight. © 2014 Abass et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.