Estado prenatal de los ácidos grasos durante la gestación

Identifier:  TDX:4106

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4106

Authors:  Martín Grau, Carla

Abstract:
Pregnancy induces many physiological changes in women and requires special nutritional needs for both the woman and the foetus. The maternal nutritional status of fatty acids (FA) plays an important role for her and her offspring, specifically essential FA and n-3 polyunsaturated FA such as DHA and EPA. During the course of pregnancy, it has been shown that a high amount of maternal FA is necessary to support fetal demands. Therefore, it is important to maintain optimal serum levels of FA to facilitate their transfer across the placenta during pregnancy. However, there are few studies that monitor FA concentrations throughout pregnancy. The main objective of this study is to determine the FA nutritional status of pregnant women throughout pregnancy. The ECLIPSES-ÁG project is a multicenter longitudinal observational study conducted in 793 healthy pregnant women from a Mediterranean region of southern Catalonia in which a large serum FA profile was analyzed using chromatographic techniques. Serum concentrations of FAs were measured and their reference ranges (RR) were established in the first (T1) and third (T3) trimester of gestation. The concentrations of FA varied from T1 to T3 (saturated, monounsaturated and n-6 polyunsaturated FA increased, and FA derived from essential FA (AA, EPA and DHA) decreased). These changes were influenced by certain maternal factors (socio-economic and lifestyle). The proposed FA levels seem to be a useful tool to assess the degree of FA adequacy in pregnant women and to make dietary interventions based on specific maternal factors