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Association of antenatal vitamin B complex supplementation with neonatal vitamin B12 status: evidence from a cluster randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Purpose

Evidence about the effect of maternal vitamin B12 supplementation on offspring’s vitamin B12 status is limited. The present interventional study sought to evaluate the association of antenatal vitamin B complex supplementation with neonatal vitamin B12 status.

Methods

In an ongoing cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in three rural counties in northwest China, pregnant women < 20 weeks of gestation were randomized to three treatment groups: blank control, iron supplements, or vitamin B complex supplements. All women were administered folic acid supplements during the periconceptional period. In a sub-study, we collected cord blood samples of 331 participants from the control or vitamin B complex groups in the Xunyi county from January 2017 to December 2017. Plasma concentrations of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine were measured. Linear mixed models with a random intercept for cluster were used to compare biochemical indexes between groups after controlling for covariates.

Results

Compared with newborns whose mothers were in the control group, newborns of the vitamin B complex-supplemented women had significantly higher cord plasma vitamin B12 (P = 0.001) and lower homocysteine concentrations (P = 0.043). The association of antenatal vitamin B complex supplementation with cord blood vitamin B12 concentrations appeared to be more pronounced among newborns with high folate status than those with low folate status (Pinteraction = 0.060).

Conclusions

Maternal vitamin B complex supplementation during pregnancy was associated with better neonatal vitamin B12 status in rural northwest China.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all participants and researchers who participated in this study. The authors are also grateful to the Xunyi County Hospital and the Xunyi County Maternal and Child Health Hospital for their collaboration during the implementation of this trial.

Funding

This study was sponsored by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2017YFC0907200, grant number 2017YFC0907201), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 81230016), the Project of birth defect control and prevention in Shaanxi (grant number Sxwsjswzfcght2016-013), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant number 2015M582678) and Xi’an Jiaotong University (xjj2018146). The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China

    Shanshan Li, Baibing Mi, Danmeng Liu, Fangliang Lei, Lingxia Zeng, Yijun Kang, Yuan Shen, Leilei Pei, Zhonghai Zhu, Hong Yan, Xin Liu & Shaonong Dang

  2. Translational Medicine Center, Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China

    Pengfei Qu

  3. Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

    Duolao Wang

  4. Nutrition and Food Safety Engineering Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Yan

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  1. Shanshan Li
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  2. Baibing Mi
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  13. Xin Liu
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  14. Shaonong Dang
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Correspondence to Xin Liu or Shaonong Dang.

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Li, S., Mi, B., Qu, P. et al. Association of antenatal vitamin B complex supplementation with neonatal vitamin B12 status: evidence from a cluster randomized controlled trial. Eur J Nutr 60, 1031–1039 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-020-02309-x

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