Relationship Between Prepregnancy BMI and Concentrations of Iron, Calcium, and Magnesium in Serum and Hair During the First Trimester of Pregnancy in Women

The study involved 97 Caucasian/white low-risk pregnant women at 12 weeks of gestation and aimed to determine the relationship between prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and the dietary intake of iron, calcium, and magnesium and their concentrations in serum and hair. The results showed that overweight and obese women had higher magnesium concentration in serum, while iron content in serum and hair was significantly lower compared to women with normal body weight. The average total supply of iron was below the recommendation in pregnant women. An inverse significant relationship was observed between BMI and iron concentration in hair and serum in the whole population. The study concluded that being overweight or obese before pregnancy is associated with low dietary iron intake and low iron concentration in serum and hair during the first trimester of pregnancy in women.