Objective: Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and folate are
essential micronutrient for cellular growth and differentiation. In current
sequential study, our aim is to determine the mean B12 and folate levels and
prevalence of B12 and folate deficiency at each trimester in Turkish healthy
pregnant women who did not use any supplementation.
Method: A prospective cross-sectional study was
conducted between January-2016 and May-2017. Singleton pregnancies in the first
trimester, not using any vitamin supplementation were included. Blood samples
were collected at 10-14, 20-24 and at last 30-34 gestational weeks and vitamin
B12, folate and homocystein levels were calculated.
Results: In first trimester, we found out that
2.44%, in second trimester 2.41% and in third trimester 2.27% of patients had
vitamin B12 deficiency (B12<126.5 pg/mL). There was statistically
significant decrease in folate and homocystein levels in the second trimester
compare to first trimester (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The homocysteine level was found similar
in the third compared to first trimester with a gradual increase from the
second trimester value, this could be explained with the decrease in the B12
level in the third trimester. By the way, deficiency rates for B12 and folate
were rare in Turkey after new health policy compared to other countries even
without supplementation.