TABLE 4.
Demographic and systemic carotenoids status of infant’s whose mothers were in the Carotenoid and Control Study Groups1.
| Variables | Carotenoid group (n = 21) | Control group (n = 20) | Mean difference | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA, d | 277.3 ± 1.9 | 273.8 ± 1.3 | 3.6 ± 2.4 | 0.136 |
| Age, d | 4.5 ± 0.5 | 5.1 ± 0.6 | -0.6 ± 0.7 | 0.446 |
| Weight, kg | 3.2 ± 0.1 | 3.3 ± 0.1 | -0.1 ± 0.1 | 0.284 |
| Sex | 0.161 | |||
| Female | 13 (61.9) | 8 (40.0) | ||
| Male | 8 (38.1) | 12 (60.0) | ||
| Delivery mode | 0.929 | |||
| Vaginal | 16 (76.2) | 15 (75.0) | ||
| C-section | 5 (23.8) | 5 (25.0) | ||
| Cord blood carotenoids, ng/mL | ||||
| L + Z | 270.5 ± 29.122 | 54.5 ± 6.63 | 216.0 ± 30.6 | <0.00014 |
| Total carotenoids | 324.4 ± 31.62 | 93.0 ± 9.33 | 231.3 ± 33.7 | <0.00014 |
| Skin carotenoid, RU | 31,656 ± 12795 | 23,011 ± 869 | 8645 ± 1546 | <0.00014 |
Abbreviations: C-section, cesarean section; GA, gestational age; L + Z, Lutein + Zeaxanthin; RU, Raman units; Total carotenoid, summation of lutein, zeaxanthin, β cryptoxanthin, α carotene, β carotene, and lycopene.
To convert ng/mL L + Z to nmol/L, multiply ng/mL by 1.758.
1
Data shown are the mean ± standard error for continuous data and frequency (%) for categorical data.
2
Number of participants is 19.
3
Number of participants is 18.
4
Statistically significant difference between the 2 study groups at 0.05 level.
5
Number of participant is 20.