Nutritional status of women with a blighted ovum
Objective. To assess the levels of zinc, copper, phosphorus and magnesium ions in blood serum of women who have a history of one or more episodes of a blighted ovum, as compared with a group of women who have a history of term births without any cases of spontaneous abortion. Patients and methods. We examined concentrations of zinc, copper, magnesium and phosphate ions in serum of nonpregnant women (n = 100) aged 19 to 44 years, living in the city of Barnaul. 70 patients had a recorded history of a blighted ovum (group 1), of them 50 patients had one episode (subgroup 1A), 20 patients has more than one episode (subgroup 1B). 30 patients comprised the control group (group 2). Results. Serum ion concentrations (zinc, copper, magnesium, phosphates, respectively) were: subgroup 1A - 6.00 ± 4.23 gmol/L, 4.57 ± 5.77 gmol/L, 0.74 ± 0.36 mmol/L, 1.08 ± 0.88 mmol/L; subgroup 1B - 6.58 ± 5.02 gmol/L, 4.73 ± 4.78 gmol/L, 0.88 ± 0.44 mmol/L, 1.26 ± 0.66 mmol/L; group 2 (control): 6.09 ± 4.77 gmol/L; 6.57 ± 7.28 gmol/L; 0.89 ± 0.22 mmol/L; 1.17 ± 0.63 mmol/L. The proportion of women with hypomagnesemia was significantly higher in group 1А (23 patients, which is 47.9%) than in the control group (7 women, 23.3%, p = 0.05). At the same time, the nutritional status of patients with habitual reproductive losses was comparable with data of the control group. Conclusion. A considerable nutrient deficiency has been found in women of fertile age living in the city of Barnaul; the most significant decrease was found in «subfertile» patients and women with sporadic cases of a blighted ovum.