Serum 25- hydroxy vitamin D levels in pregnant women with increase in parity in Tamilnadu population

Abstract

Introduction:Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women is a preventable and treatable health problem. Studies on vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women reported the adverse effects on maternal health and fetal wellbeing. Utmost attention is required in prevention of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women. Aim of the present study is to know the status of vitamin D levels in pregnant women of different gravidaand to compare biochemical parameters in pregnant women with increase in parity. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective and observational study. Estimation of serum vitamin D levels was studied in 189 pregnant women. Pregnant females were randomly selected, who attended the antenatal clinic from April 2016 to November 2017. Women with serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level lower than 10ng/ml were diagnosed as vitamin D deficient. Results: In the present study, the mean serum 25-OH vitamin D of all pregnant women is 16.7 ± 10.5 ng/ml. Primigravida women had higher 25-OH vitamin D (15.4 ± 10.7 ng/ml) than the second and the third grvida women (10.5 ± 8.9ng/ml and 9.7 ± 7.6 ng/ml, both P<0.001). The 77% of primigravida women and 55% of second gravida women had serum 25-OH vitamin D concentrations below 10 ng/ml. Strong association was observed between low vitamin D levels and increase in parity. Conclusion: The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy calls for unanimous approach to tackle this grave situation by implementing a national strategy for screening, prevention, and treatment of this deficiency.