Assessment of Serum Folate and Vitamin B12 Status in Neonates of Preeclamptic and Eclamptic Mothers in Northwestern Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21234878Keywords:
Preeclampsia, Eclampsia, Serum folate, Vitamin B12, Neonate, Cord blood, SokotoAbstract
Background: Pregnancy is a physiological process in which the health of both the mother and the fetus influences neonatal outcomes. Maternal and placental complications like preeclampsia and eclampsia can disrupt fetal homeostasis. This study focused on measuring serum folate and vitamin B12 levels in newborns of mothers with these conditions.
Materials and methods: This hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study included neonates and their mothers with preeclampsia and eclampsia from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital and the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto. A total of 56 pairs, including preeclampsia, eclampsia, and normotensive groups, were recruited. Clinical data were collected using a structured proforma. Three millilitres of blood were taken from the neonates' umbilical cords and mothers' veins into plain bottles. Serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were measured by ELISA using Calbiotech kits, with absorbance read at 450 nm. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 27.0. The Shapiro-Wilk test assessed normality, with results expressed as means ± SD. Independent t-tests and ANOVA were used to compare parameter means between mothers and neonates, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: In this study, neonates of mothers with preeclampsia and eclampsia had significantly higher mean serum vitamin B12 levels (371.48 ± 163.8 pg/mL and 357.10 ± 163.6 pg/mL) than controls (254.01 ± 85.8 pg/mL), p<0.001. No significant differences were found in cord blood serum folate levels across groups (22.22 ± 3.53 ng/mL, 22.73 ± 3.92 ng/mL, and 23.83 ± 4.07 ng/dL; r=2.58, p=0.079). No differences in cord serum folate and B12 levels were observed among mothers with different preeclampsia severity. Positive correlations existed between maternal and neonatal serum B12 in all groups (r=0.913, p=0.001; r=0.905, p<0.001; r=0.917, p<0.001). Neonatal and maternal serum folate levels correlated in the preeclampsia group.
Conclusion:The study demonstrated a higher mean serum Vitamin B12 in neonates born to mothers with preeclampsia and eclampsia, in comparison to neonates born to normotensive mothers. No significant variations were observed in the mean cord blood serum folate levels among preeclampsia, eclampsia, and control groups. Additionally, the severity of the disease did not significantly influence the serum levels of folate and vitamin B12 in cord blood.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rotimi Samson Adewumi, Muhammad Alhaji Ndakotsu, Yakubu Ibrahim Anas, Abubakar Umar Musa, Abubakar Aliyu Panti, Ibrahim AbdulQadir, Garba Umar Kangiwa, Sediq Alli, Sani BaKo Abubakar (Author)
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Authors retain copyright. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (CC BY 4.0 deed)
