Relationship Between Vitamin-D Deficiency and Pre-Eclampsia

Abstract

Background 
 Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome that affects virtually every organ system, characterized by the new onset of hypertension and proteinuria after 20th week of gestation. The exact cause of preeclampsia is not known. Recent epidemiological studies have emphasized the role of vitamin D deficiency in immunomodulation and placental development and thus, they put the emphasis on vitamin D deficiency, regarding its possible role in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia.
 Objectives
 To assess the frequency of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women in the study groups and to find any relationship between vitamin D deficiency and pre-eclampsia.
 Patients and Methods
 A case -control study conducted at Sulaimani Maternity Teaching Hospital. A total of one hundred primigravid women with singleton pregnancy without any medical problem were included in the study, fifty women with pre-eclampsia (the study group) and the other fifty women with healthy pregnancy without preeclampsia (the control group). Serum vitamin D level estimation was done for all women in the study and comparison done between the two groups. Vitamin D level < 20 ng/ml. were considered insufficient, while level < 10 ng/ml considered significant deficiency.
 Results
 All women who participated in the study had vitamin D level below normal (< 20 ng/ml). With the majority of women in both groups have significant deficiency (level <10ng/ml) which was 45 (90%) women in the study group compared to 40 (80 %) women in the control group with a P- value = 0.6. The mean vitamin D level was not statistically different between the pre-eclampsia group and healthy women (5.87± 3.37 versus 6.5± 3.67) with P- value =0.25.
 Conclusion
 Vitamin D deficiency was very common among the studied women. No statistical significant association between vitamin D deficiency and pre-eclampsia was found in this study.