The aim of this study was to compare the nutritional status of vitamin A per trimester of pregnancy, as well as to assess its influence on pre-pregnancy BMI, total gestational weight gain (TGWG) and presence of anemia in women who had previously undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). An analytical, longitudinal and retrospective study comprising 30 pregnant women who had previously undergone RYGB was undertaken. In all trimesters of pregnancy, the serum concentrations of retinol, β-carotene, stages of vitamin A deficiency (VAD), night blindness (NB), anemia and anthropometric variables were assessed. VAD in pregnancy affected 90% of women, 86.7% developed NB and 82.8% had mild VAD. TGWG above/below the recommended range was related to the low serum concentrations of β-carotene (p = 0.045) in the second trimester and women with TGWG above the recommended range showed 100% of inadequacy of this nutrient in the third trimester. Among the pregnant women with anemia, 90.9% had VAD and 86.4% had NB. This study highlights the importance of monitoring the nutritional status of vitamin A in prenatal care, due to its relationship with TGWG and the high percentage of VAD and NB found since the beginning of pregnancy. It also reaffirms the use of the cut-off <1.05 μmol/L for determining VAD.

Background: The aim of this review was to evaluate the impact of vitamin A supplementation on adult pregnant women and women who have just given birth in studies examining serum concentrations of vitamin A in breast milk and in maternal/child morbidity and mortality. Methods: This review followed the recommendations in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). In November 2014, an electronic search was independently performed by two authors on the Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and LILACS databases on studies published from January 2004 to November 2014. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed in accordance with the Jadad scale, which determines the exclusion of studies with scores lower than 3. Results: It was observed that when supplementation was provided only in the immediate postpartum period, it increased the liver stores of vitamin A. On the other hand, when supplementation was provided during pregnancy and puerperium5, the propensity for depleting the stores of vitamin A at the end of pregnancy decreased, the immune system improved, and cases of gestational night blindness decreased, but there were no changes in the outcomes at childbirth or in maternal, fetal, and child mortality. When supplementation was provided before and during pregnancy and in the immediate postpartum period, an additional improvement of lung function evaluated in preschool-aged children was found, but no significant changes in cognitive and motor development were noted. Conclusions: Studies show the benefits of vitamin A supplementation, not just in the immediate postpartum period but, above all, when it is provided before and/or during pregnancy. Considering the positive repercussions observed, we suggest supplementation both in the gestational period and in the immediate postpartum period as a way to enhance the safety of mother–child care.

Objective. Vitamin A antioxidant role has an important relationship with the metabolic processes of aging and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed at assessing the liver store of retinol in elderly individuals who died from cardiovascular disease and its relationship with liver weight and body weight.Methods and Results. This is a cross‐sectional study conducted in necropsied individuals, aged 60 years or over, until 48 hours postmortem. The study assessed 65 elderly individuals who died from ischemic heart diseases (G1), cerebrovascular diseases (G2), other forms of heart disease (G3), or infectious heart diseases (G4). Twenty percent had inadequate liver store of retinol. G1 showed lower median of liver store of retinol when compared to G3 (p< 0.001), and G3 showed the highest median when compared to G2 (p= 0.007). A significant association was observed between inadequate liver store of retinol and death by ischemic CVD (G1) (p= 0.001) with an odds ratio of 10.38. It was observed that individuals with higher body weight and liver weight showed lower liver store of retinol with significant differences (p= 0.027 andp= 0.026).Conclusion. Ischemic CVD and increased body weight and liver weight are related to a greater impairment of the liver store of retinol.

Background: To assess the influence of the time interval between pregnancy and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on maternal-infant complications. Methods: This is an analytical, longitudinal and retrospective study comprising 42 pregnant women who had previously undergone RYGB, subdivided according to the time interval between pregnancy and bariatric surgery: ≤12 months (G1), >12 and <24 months (G2) and ≥24 months (G3). Anthropometric variables of mothers, newborns and information on pregnancy complications were collected. Results: G1 was the group more likely to develop urinary tract infection, dumping syndrome and inadequacy of birth weight than G2. Pregnancy complications were similar and >80.0% both in the first 12 months and after 24 months of the RYGB and the smallest percentages occurred in the time interval of 12–24 months after it. In addition, the percentage of neonatal complications was the highest in G1 when compared to the other times studied. Conclusion: Our findings indicate less predisposition to maternal-infant complications in pregnancies occurring in the time interval of >12 and <24 months and suggest that pregnancy after 24 months can be as harmful as pregnancies occurring before the first 12 postoperative months, since a great catabolism occurs at this time as it has been shown in the literature.