A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the effect of zinc supplementation during pregnancy on pregnancy outcome in Bangladeshi urban poor.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

To date, placebo-controlled trials have all been performed in industrialized countries and the results are inconsistent.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 559 women taking part.

PubMed tags the participants as women only.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some women received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

Serum zinc was estimated at baseline and at 7 mo of gestation.

Weight, length, and gestational ages of 410 singleton newborns were measured within 72 h of birth.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Anthropometry, Bangladesh, Blood Pressure, Developing Countries, Infant, Small for Gestational Age, Poverty and Pregnancy Outcome.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 559 women.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2000 (The American journal of clinical nutrition), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.