Objective To assess if early pregnancy (≤14 weeks of gestation) 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level is associated with risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods A nested case‐control study (60 women in each arm) was conducted at Saad Abualila Hospital (Khartoum, Sudan) during the period of January to November 2017. Clinical and obstetrical data were gathered, 25(OH)D concentration was measured at the first prenatal visit, and a 75‐g oral glucose tolerance test was performed at 24–28 weeks of gestation. Results Compared with women without GDM, in women with GDM, the median of the 25(OH)D level was significantly lower (7.3 [interquartile range 5.7–8.8] ng/mL versus 8.4 [interquartile range 6.6–11.9] ng/mL, P=0.001). All women in the study (with and without GDM) had vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D<20 ng/mL). The results of the logistic regression showed that a low 25(OH)D level was the only factor associated with GDM (odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73–0.95, P=0.010). Women with 25(OH)D less than 6.0 ng/mL were at a higher risk of GDM (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.29–8.12, P=0.012). Conclusion A low 25(OH)D level in early pregnancy was associated with increased risk of GDM. This finding might be useful in predicting GDM.

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This study characterized the effects of regular green tea ( GT ) and hot water ( HW ) ingestion on systolic blood pressure ( SBP ), diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ), pulse pressure ( PP ), and left ventricular hypertrophy ( LVH ) in two equal, sex‐ and age‐matched groups; Grp1 and Grp2 ( n = 100 each; age 53 ± 4 years) of hypertensive patients. Grp1 had regular GT treatment, followed by HW ingestion, whereas Grp2 had HW ingestion followed by GT treatment for periods of 4 months each. Electrocardiographic ( ECG ) and echocardiographic assessments of LVH were made before and at the end of both periods. SBP was lowered significantly by 6.6%; DBP by 5.1%, and PP by 9.1% by the end of month 4 of GT treatment in Grp1. Upon GT cessation and HW ingestion, SBP , DBP , and PP returned to pretreatment levels over 4 months. In Grp2, SBP , DBP , and PP were reduced insignificantly by 1.5%, 1.0%, and 2.3% by the end of the 4th month of HW ingestion. Conversely, over 4 months of GT treatment, SBP , DBP , and PP were significantly lowered by 5.4%, 4.1%, and 7.7% from the baseline values, respectively. ECG and echocardiographic evidence of LVH was shown in 20% of Grp1 and 24% of Grp2 patients before intervention. This was significantly lowered to 8% and 10% in Grp1 and Grp2 by GT treatment. However, this increased to 16% following HW ingestion in Grp1. HW ingestion did mot induce regression of LVH in Grp2. Thus, regular GT ingestion has cardiovascular protective effects.

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