This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Vitamins C, E do not prevent preeclampsia in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
ADA 70th Scientific Sessions
ORLANDO —Women with type 1 diabetes who take vitamins C and E do not appear to have a lower risk for preeclampsia. However, vitamin supplementation may be beneficial for pregnant women with low antioxidant status, new data indicated.
Results of the Diabetes and Preeclampsia Intervention Trial (DAPIT) showed no difference in rates of preeclampsia between pregnant women who took 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E (15%) and matching placebo (19%; RR=0.81; 95% CI, 0.59-1.12).
“Similarly, there was no reduction in risk of secondary outcomes, including gestational hypertension and birth weight <10th percentile, with vitamin supplementation,” David R. McCance, MD, of Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, United Kingdom, said at the Joint ADA/The Lancet Symposium.
However, in women who had low antioxidant status at baseline experienced a significantly lower risk for preeclampsia after vitamin supplementation. This was observed in two of 11 prespecified subgroup analyses, according to McCance.
“The possibility that antioxidant vitamin supplementation maybe beneficial in women with low antioxidant status at baseline needs further testing,” he said.
DAPIT examined the benefits of vitamin C and E supplementation in 762 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes who were recruited from 25 U.K. antenatal clinics. Women were randomly assigned to daily vitamins (n=379) or placebo (n=383) between 8 and 22 weeks’ gestation until delivery.
According to the results, there was no evidence of harm from vitamin supplementation to either mothers or babies. Antioxidant vitamins did not increase the likelihood of developing high blood pressure during pregnancy (11% vs. 1%) and appeared to reduce the risk for having a low-birth-weight baby (6% vs. 10%). In addition, fewer babies were born preterm to mothers taking vitamin C.
“The etiology of preeclampsia might be mutifactorial,” Baha M. Sibai, MD, of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, wrote in an accompanying editorial published in The Lancet.
“Some cases might be caused by immunological factors, others by dietary factors and others because of pre-existing medical conditions, or by a combination of these factors. Therefore, any single intervention is unlikely to be effective in prevention,” Sibai wrote.
For more information:
- McCance DR. Joint ADA/The Lancet Symposium. Presented at: American Diabetes Association 70th Scientific Sessions; June 25-29, 2010; Orlando.
- McCance DR. Lancet. 2010;doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60630-7.
- Sibai BM. Lancet. 2010;doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61007-0.
Follow
EndocrineToday.com on Twitter.