الملخص الإنجليزي
Objectives: To assess calcium status in healthy pregnant women
during limited sun exposure time in winter, and to demonstrate the
possible effect of serum albumin alterations on serum total calcium
level and the role of albumin adjusted calcium concentration.
Methods: Subjects enrolled in the study included 160 apparently
healthy women divided equally into four groups (I - IV), group I
was considered as the control group, composed of non-pregnant
women. Groups II-IV were composed of pregnant women in the
first, second and third trimesters respectively. Semiquantitative
urine protein determination and measurement of serum total
calcium, ionized calcium, albumin, phosphorous and creatinine
with calculation of corrected calcium were performed in all groups.
The results were statistically evaluated by standard statistical
methods.
Results: There was no significant difference in serum ionized
calcium, corrected calcium and phosphorous during pregnancy.
However, there was a significant reduction of serum total calcium,
albumin and creatinine in pregnant women at second and third
trimesters. In each group, a significant positive correlation was
observed between total calcium with corrected and ionized
calcium.
Conclusion: In healthy pregnant women even during limited
sun exposure time in winter, there was no need for calcium
supplementation in spite of the continuous and progressive
reduction of serum measured total calcium during the second
and third trimesters due to dilutional hypoalbuminemia. During
pregnancy, measured calcium is parallel to both corrected and
ionized calcium and since there was no significant difference
between measured and corrected calcium, therefore, measured
calcium is a useful test in assessing calcium status and suggests the
need to establish a reference range for pregnant women.
