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Raeesian F, Lamiyan M, Hajizadeh E, Bakouie S, Soltanmoradi S, Moghaddam Banaem L et al . Serum Zinc & Iron in the First Half of Pregnancy and Their Relationship with Preterm Delivery: A Prospective Longitudinal Study . J Res Dev Nurs Midw 2015; 12 (1) :39-46
URL: http://nmj.goums.ac.ir/article-1-704-en.html

Material and Methods: This cohort study was conducted, via multi-stage sampling, on 1033 pregnant women referred to the prenatal centers in Tehran, Iran. The instrument was demographic- productivity questionnaire completed within the14th-20th weeks of gestation. Serum level of zinc & iron was measured by spectrophotometric atomic absorption method and Ferene test, respectively. To analyze the data, we used T test, χ2 and logistic regression using SPSS16 software. 

Results: The incidence of preterm delivery was 10.5%. This rate increased to 12.5% and 18.2% in lack of iron and zinc, respectively. There was no significant link between lack of zinc level and preterm delivery (P>0.05), But the relationship between lack of iron and preterm delivery was significant (P< 0.05). Based on logistic regression, there was higher risk of preterm delivery if iron serum level was low. 

Conclusion: Given the high impact of lack of iron on preterm delivery, we recommend that the factors effective on intake & absorption of iron be emphasized in reproductive education courses.