Zinc and selenium levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus at Medani Hospital, Sudan

Gestational diabetes is a common medical disorder in pregnancy. There is a growing body of evidence of the association between zinc, selenium status and diabetes mellitus during pregnancy. A case-control study was conducted at Medani Hospital, Sudan, to compare zinc and selenium levels in pregnant women with gestational diabetes and normal pregnant women (controls). The two groups (31 in each arm) were well-matched in age, parity, gestational age, haemoglobin and body mass index. Zinc and selenium levels were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. There were no significant differences in the median (interquartile) zinc (498.9 [395-703] vs 486.4 [404-667] μg/l, p = 0.905) and selenium (164.4 [61-415] vs 204 [68-541] μg/l, p = 0.838) values between the two groups. There were no significant correlations between zinc and selenium, or between these trace elements and body mass index, gestational age and blood glucose levels.