EVALUATION OF VITAMIN A AND VITAMIN E STATUS IN PUERPERAL WOMEN INFECTED BY SARS-CoV-2 AND THEIR NEONATES
COVID-19, Pregnancy, Retinol, Alpha-tocopherol, Newborn.
The COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2), has been associated with negative pregnancy outcomes, which can result in hospitalizations and deaths. From this perspective, nutrition emerged as a potentially important factor, as adequate and quality food can help maintain immunity. There is evidence that vitamin A and vitamin E deficiency can alter the immune system's reaction and the pathogenicity of viruses, but it is not yet known whether SARS-CoV-2 infection depresses the status of this vitamin in the mother-child binomial. Given this scenario, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of SARS-CoV-2 on the vitamin A and vitamin E status of pregnant women and their newborns. This is a cross-sectional and retrospective study, with non-probability sampling, approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL). Pregnant women symptomatic for COVID-19 and their newborns attended at the Januário Cicco Maternity School (MEJC) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), between February 2021 and February 2022, were included. Socioeconomic, demographic and clinical information was obtained and biological samples of serum and breast milk were collected. The binomials were grouped into those positive and negative for the disease. The vitamins status is in the analysis phase and will be assessed according to levels of retinol and alpha-tocopherol in maternal serum, newborn serum and human milk. After extraction, the material is analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) at the UFRN Chemistry Institute. Vitamin A inadequacy is confirmed when retinol levels below 20 µg/dL are observed. In the case of alpha-tocopherol, maternal values below 517 µg/dL are indicative of deficiency. For qualification, sociodemographic and clinical characterization was presented. For statistical analysis of quantitative variables and frequencies, the free JASP software was used. Of the 57 pregnant women tested, 27 were positive and 30 were negative for the virus, with an average age of 27 years old and completed high school. The average number of days of hospitalization was 7.92 (SD± 6.24) days and the majority of those tested positive (74.08%) presented the moderate form of the disease. The samples analyzed so far were serum from negative pregnant women, with adequate retinol levels (> 20 µg/dL). With the conclusion of the analyzes it is expected to evaluate whether the status of micronutrients is compromised by COVID-19, as well as whether there are losses in the maternal-fetal-neonate transfer of essential vitamins for the period of intense growth and development, such as the immediate postnatal.