Geographic and socio-demographic determinants of plasma retinol concentrations in Chinese pregnant and lactating women

PURPOSE To examine plasma retinol status and its determinants in Chinese pregnant or lactating women. METHODS A cross-sectional study involving 1211 healthy women in mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy, or lactation was conducted in northern, central, and southern China. Plasma retinol concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Multivariate quantile regression or modified Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted medians, or to examine the associations of suboptimal retinol concentration (