The association between iron status and some immunological factors in the pregnancy

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common problem in many developing countries. It is still considered the most common nutrition deficiency worldwide. Apart from its direct hematologic importance, IDA affects cellular and humoral immunity and predisposes the host to infections (1).Pregnant women are highly prone to IDA. Controversial results are reported in studies targeting this group of patients. Tang et al showed a direct association between hemoglobin concentration and the count of CD4+ T-cell lymphocytes, serum levels of IL-2 and IgG, and an inverse association with susceptibility to infection (2). Ironically, Leush et al reported an increase in IgM and IgG in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy in women with IDA (3).With regard to controversial results and the scarcity of studies focusing on pregnant women, we aimed to enlighten the relation between iron status and some immunological factors include some component of complement system, IgA, IgM, IgG subclasses of immunoglobulins and pro-inflammatory cytokines during the third trimester of pregnancy.In a descriptive-analytic study participants were recruited using convenient sampling from the women in the third trimester of pregnancyCorresponding author:Nadereh Naderi, Faculty of Medicine, First of Nabovat minicity, opposite of Workers Welfare Community, First of Imam Hossein Blv., Bandarabbas, Iran.Email: msbhnadereh@yahoo.comreferred to the labor room of gynecology and obstetrics ward of Dr. Shariati Hospital of Bandar Abbas, Iran. Patients with signs and symptoms of thalassemia, infectious diseases or autoimmune diseases were excluded.IDA were defined with two criteria, hemoglobin concentration of less than 10 mg/dL (its normal range during the third trimesters of pregnancy is 11-14mg/dL) (4) and ferritin less than 40 ng/dL. Patients were categorized into two groups: those with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and those without this condition (no IDA).Red cell indices including hemoglobin (Hb) levels, hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), serum iron (SI) and total iron binding capacity (TIBC), concentration of ferritin, C3 and C4 complements and IgA, IgM and IgG subclasses of immunoglobulins were determined. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 11.5 using Student t-test, Pearson’s correlation test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s test of normal distribution.Ninety-two patients were studied. They were aged between