Table 2 Maternal serum iron and red blood cell indices according to vaginal microflora status. Healthy vaginal flora is defined as grade I or lactobacilli-dominated microflora on Gram stain (corresponding to a Nugent score 0 – 3) and disturbed vaginal flora is defined as grade II and grade III flora, this is mixed or gram-negative rods-dominated microflora on Gram stain (corresponding to a Nugent score ≥4). RBC denotes red blood cell counts, Hgb plasma haemoglobin concentration, Hct hematocrit, MCV mean corpuscular volume of red blood cells, MCH mean corpuscular haemoglobin mass of red blood cells, Fe serum iron concentration, and sTfR (serum) soluble transferrin receptor concentration, respectively.
From: Subclinical iron deficiency is a strong predictor of bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy
| Â | Healthy vaginal microflora (n = 80) | Disturbed vaginal microflora (n = 18) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
RBC (×106/μL) | 4.3 ± 0.4 | 4.4 ± 0.4 | 0.5 |
HgB (g/dL) | 13.1 ± 0.9 | 13.1 ± 1.1 | 0.8 |
Hct (%) | 38.8 ± 2.6 | 39.4 ± 3.2 | 0.4 |
MCV (fL) | 89.4 ± 4.6 | 89.1 ± 5.3 | 0.8 |
MCH (pg/cell) | 30.2 ± 1.8 | 29.7 ± 1.5 | 0.3 |
Fe (μg/dL) | 113.0 ± 39.1 | 105.2 ± 43.3 | 0.5 |
Ferritin (mg/L) | 46.2 ± 35.9 | 52.5 ± 56.6 | 0.6 |
Transferrin (mg/dL) | 2.8 ± 0.5 | 2.9 ± 0.5 | 0.7 |
Transferrin saturation (%) | 29.5 ± 12.1 | 26.7 ± 12.3 | 0.4 |
sTfR (mg/L) | 1.15 ± 0.30 | 1.37 ± 0.38 | 0.01 |
Log10[sTfR]/log10[ferritin] | 0.04 ± 0.12 | 0.10 ± 0.15 | 0.04 |
Log10[sTfR/ferritin] | 1.57 ± 0.30 | 1.08 ± 0.56 | 0.003 |