Rima Irwinda^1,, Saptawati Bardosono², Ali Sungkar¹, Noroyono Wibowo¹

Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the leading causes of neonatal death. Studies have shown that Interleukin-1 (IL-1β) critically contributes to inflammation-induced PTB, and micronutrients deficiencies might influence the inflammatory pathways. Since zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin D deficiencies are common in Indonesia, this study aims to evaluate those nutrients supplementation on placental IL-1β in PTB. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in pregnant women who underwent spontaneous delivery. They were divided into 3 groups; control-term group (n=25), control-preterm group (n=27), and experimental-preterm group (n=26). No intervention was given to the control-term and the control-preterm groups, while the experimental-preterm group was given zinc 50 mg/day, a single dose beta-carotene 25,000 IU, and vitamin D3 50,000 IU/week until delivery. Zinc, all-trans retinoic acid (AtRA) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in maternal serum were measured before and after intervention, followed by assessment of placental concentration of those nutrients and IL-1β expression after delivery. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests were performed for comparison analysis and using Pearson or Spearman test for correlation analysis correlation test using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). No significant difference in zinc, AtRA, and 25(OH)D concentrations was found in maternal serum, before and after the intervention. However, the experimental-preterm group had the lowest IL-1β concentration (7.17 pg/g (0.45–283.29), p=0.009). This study suggests that the administration of zinc, beta-carotene, and vitamin D3 in PTB was associated with lower placental IL-1β expressions, although it did not directly increase those nutrient concentrations in serum and placenta.

preterm birth, micronutrients, Indonesian women