Serum retinol concentrations were compared in a consecutive series of
65 mother-newborn pairs at delivery in a public maternity hospital in
Recife, Brazil, from January to August 2008 and examined their
association with biological, socioeconomic, environmental and
obstetrical characteristics. Serum retinol concentrations of the
newborns (umbilical cord) and mothers (brachial venipuncture) were
analyzed by highperformance liquid chromatography. Prevalence of low
(<0.70 \u3bcmol/L) and inadequate (<1.05 \u3bcmol/L) serum
retinol concentrations were observed in 23.1% (95% CI 13.9-35.5) and
23.0% (95% CI 13.5-35.8) among newborns and mothers respectively. The
serum retinol distribution was lower in male than female infants (-0.4
\u3bcmol/L, p=0.01) and, across both sexes, concentrations in paired
newborn and mother were correlated (r=0.27, p=0.04). Further, maternal
status explains only 7% of the variance in retinol concentrations in
newborn\u2019s cord plasma. Among mothers delivering in public
facilities in Recife, hypovitaminosis may exist