Copper Nutriture Amongst Pregnant Women in a Rural Area of India

Assessment of copper nutriture amongst pregnant women of a rural area in India. Method: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted amongst pregnant women (PW) in a rural block (randomly selected) of Haryana State, India. All the villages of the block were listed and six villages were randomly selected for the detailed study. Two hundred and eighty-two PW with gestational age 28 weeks and more were enrolled into the study. Data on age, gestational age, socio-economic status, and other demographic parameters were collected by utilizing a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Copper nutriture was assessed by measuring the serum copper levels (by the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method) and the dietary intake of copper (by the 24-hr dietary recall methodology). Results: The mean serum copper concentration of the study subjects was 192.9 ± 60.9 µg/dl. Only 2.7% of the PW had deficient copper nutriture (serum copper concentration < 80 µg/dl). Dietary intake data revealed that 75% of the PW were consuming 50% and more of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for copper (2g). A significant positive correlation (p<0.01) was found between gestational age and serum copper levels. Conclusion: The prevalence of copper deficiency amongst PW was 2.7%.