Copper Nutriture Amongst Pregnant Women in a Rural

Abstract

Objective: 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%.
Key words:  Copper nutriture, copper deficiency,
pregnancy, dietary intake

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