Maternal Iron Status Is Dynamic Throughout Pregnancy and Might Predict Birth Outcomes in a Sex Dependent Manner: Results from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Developmental responses to nutrient deprivation may differ by fetal sex. Despite this, relationships between maternal prenatal iron biomarkers and birth outcomes when stratifying by offspring sex are poorly described, especially in healthy cohorts.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine associations between maternal iron biomarkers and birth weights (BWs) and birth head circumferences (BHCs) among female and male newborns to assess whether the potential predictive ability of iron biomarkers on birth outcomes differs by offspring sex.

Methods: The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort study recruited 2189 pregnant individuals from Calgary and Edmonton, Canada. Maternal blood was drawn at each trimester and 3 mo postpartum. Maternal serum ferritin (SF) concentrations were measured using chemiluminescent immunoassays and erythropoietin (EPO), hepcidin, and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Ratios of sTfR:SF and hepcidin:EPO were calculated and birth outcomes accessed through delivery records. Directed acyclic graphs informed multivariate regression models.

Results: The risk of maternal iron deficiency increased throughout pregnancy because ∼61% showed depleted iron stores (SF < 15 μg/L) by the third trimester. Maternal hepcidin, SF, sTfR, and sTfR:SF concentrations changed across time (P < 0.01), and participants carrying female fetuses consistently (across 6 biomarkers) showed a lower iron status during the third trimester compared with those with male fetuses (P < 0.05). Higher maternal SF and hepcidin:EPO during the third trimester was associated with lower BWs in males (P = 0.006 for SF; P = 0.03 for hepcidin:EPO) and females (P = 0.02 for SF; P = 0.02 for hepcidin:EPO). There were additional inverse associations between BWs and third trimester maternal hepcidin (P = 0.03) and hemoglobin (P = 0.004) and between BHCs and maternal SF (second trimester; P < 0.05) and Hb (third trimester P = 0.02) but only in males.

Conclusions: Relationships between maternal iron biomarkers and BWs and BHCs may depend on the timing of pregnancy and offpsring sex. There was a high risk of third trimester iron storage depletion among generally healthy pregnant individuals.

Keywords: biomarkers; birth head circumference; birth weight; fetal sex; iron; nutrient status; pregnancy; sex dependency.