Maternal Vitamin D Status among Different Ethnic Groups and Its Potential Contribution to Adverse Pregnancy and Child Outcomes

Abstract

Maternal vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is a widespread public health concern. Race and ethnicity as biological and cultural factors, respectively, can affect vitamin D status through differences in skin color, sunlight exposure, and dietary intake. Low maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy may affect both mother and fetus adversely. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are linked to a wide variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm delivery. Furthermore, maternal vitamin D deficiency has been linked to several adverse health outcomes in infants and children. The examples include, but not limited to, impaired growth, skeletal problems, and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and asthma. This chapter reviews the vitamin D status during pregnancy across different ethnic groups, looking into the adverse pregnancy and child outcomes, followed by a discussion on the association between maternal and child vitamin D status and successful interventions. Strong evidence exists about the association between vitamin D and some health outcomes during pregnancy, while more studies are needed to confirm the other claim. The existing body of evidence justifies the need for well-designed policies and systematic interventions to ensure optimal vitamin D status of pregnant women and their offsprings across different ethnic and racial groups.

Vitamin D-Related Risk Factors for Maternal Morbidity during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

“…A similar approach to vitamin D supplementation (400 IU/day) is followed in New Zealand for pregnant women identified as being at risk of vitamin D deficiency [ 96 ]. Meanwhile, for women not at risk, the ministry of health of New Zealand recommends 200 IU/day [ 97 , 98 , 99 ].…”

Effect of Vitamin D Status during Pregnancy on Infant Neurodevelopment: The ECLIPSES Study

“…Deficiency could be associated with poor health outcomes during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, bacterial vaginosis, or foetal infections [ 6 , 7 ]. For infants, a lack of vitamin D during pregnancy has been associated with prematurity, low birth weight, cardiovascular disease risk factors, abnormal skeletal development, asthma, and neurocognitive development problems [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Vitamin D therefore appears to play an important role in several child neurodevelopment issues and to have certain neuroprotective factors.…”