Correction of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy and its effects on superoxide dismutase

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) affects not only the hematological parameters but also disturb the oxidative balance of body. In pregnancy, this is much more considerable as oxidative stress is considered to be one of the physiological changes during this period. This study aims to observe the effect of daily iron supplement on oxidative stress in pregnancy. In this study, 30 pregnant women with IDA were treated with daily oral iron supplements for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit, serum ferritin concentration (SFC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured and compared with pre-supplement levels. A significant increase in all the parameters was observed after treatment (p<0.05). When post supplemental values of SFC and SOD were compared with control group comprising of 10 non anemic pregnant women, they were significantly low (p<0.05). Our results indicate that oxidative stress in pregnancy associated with IDA decreases with daily iron supplements but fail to reach normal pregnant levels. This supports iron over load theory in daily iron supplements and suggests that oxidative stress increases if pregnancy is associated with iron deficiency.