VRP Staff
In pregnant women with low calcium intake, calcium supplements reduce the severity of pre-eclampsia as well as mortality rates in mothers and infants, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found.
Pre-eclampsia is a condition where the mother’s blood pressure rises to the hypertensive range during pregnancy. It can be a life-threatening complication for both the mother and child if it escalates into eclampsia.
In the current randomized placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial, researchers studied 8,325 women with normal blood pressure who had never given birth to a child. The participants included in the study were known to consume low amounts of calcium (less than 600 mg per day) and were recruited before gestational week 20. During the trial, the subjects received 1.5 grams of calcium carbonate per day or a placebo.
Calcium supplementation was associated with a non-statistically significant small reduction in pre-eclampsia that was evident by 35 weeks of gestation. However, eclampsia and severe gestational hypertension were significantly lower in the calcium group. Overall, there was a 25 percent reduction in severe pre-eclamptic complications as well as a reduction in severe maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal mortality in the calcium-supplemented group. In the calcium group, general survival rates of the infants increased by 30 percent.
Analysis of sub groups within the study population indicated that calcium supplementation reduced the occurrence of premature births among women younger than 20, a group normally at high risk of complications.
The researchers concluded that a supplement providing 1.5 grams of calcium per day “did not prevent pre-eclampsia but did reduce its severity.” They also concluded that calcium reduced the secondary outcomes of maternal morbidity and neonatal mortality.
The researchers suggested that, for women with low calcium intakes, simply taking a prenatal vitamin many not be enough and additional calcium supplementation may be necessary.
Reference:
Villar J, Abdel-Aleem H, Merialdi M, Mathai M, Ali MM, Zavaleta N, Purwar M, Hofmeyr J, Nguyen TN, Campodonico L, Landoulsi S, Carroli G, Lindheimer M. World Health Organization randomized trial of calcium supplementation among low calcium intake pregnant women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Mar;194(3):639-49.
