Vitamin D levels in an Australian and New Zealand cohort and the association with pregnancy outcome

Abstract

BackgroundPregnant women are at increased susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency. Hence, there is continuing interest in determining how vitamin D influences pregnancy health. We aimed to compare vitamin D status in two distinct populations of pregnant women in Australia and New Zealand and to investigate the relationship between vitamin D status and pregnancy outcome. This included evaluating possible effect measure modifications according to fetal sex.MethodsSerum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured at 15 ± 1 weeks’ gestation in 2800 women from Adelaide and Auckland who participated in the multi-centre, prospective cohort SCreening fOr Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) study.ResultsMean serum 25(OH)D in all women was 68.1 ± 27.1 nmol/L and 28% (n = 772) were considered vitamin D deficient (< 50 nmol/L). Serum 25(OH)D was lower in the women recruited in Adelaide when compared to the women recruited in Auckland and remained lower after adjusting for covariates including maternal body mass index and socioeconomic index (Adelaide: 58.4 ± 50.3 vs. Auckland: 70.2 ± 54.5 nmol/L, P < 0.001). A 53% decreased risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was observed with high (> 81 nmol/L) “standardised” vitamin D status when compared to moderate-high (63–81 nmol/L, aRR, 0.47; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.96). Marginal sex-specific differences occurred between vitamin D status and GDM: women carrying a female fetus had a 56% decreased risk for GDM in those with low-moderate levels of standardised vitamin D (44–63 nmol/L) compared to moderate-high levels (aRR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.97), whilst in women carrying a male fetus, a 55% decreased risk of GDM was found with high standardised vitamin D when compared to moderately-high vitamin D, but this was not statistically significant (aRR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.15, 1.38).ConclusionsHigh serum 25(OH)D at 15 ± 1 weeks’ gestation was shown to be protective against the development of GDM. A possible association between fetal sex, vitamin D status and GDM provides further questions and encourages continual research and discussion into the role of vitamin D in pregnancy, particularly in vitamin D replete populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1887-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Newborn vitamin D levels in relation to autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability: A case–control study in california

“…It has been reported that estrogen may protect against vitamin D deficiency and that immune‐modulatory effects of vitamin D vary by sex, leading to the suggestion that males may be more susceptible to effects of vitamin D deficiency [Ali, Cui, Alexander, & Eyles, ; Cannell, ; Correale, Ysrraelit, & Gaitan, ]. An Australian study [Wilson et al, ] reported an interaction of fetal sex and gestational 25(OH)D on gestational diabetes mellitus, with female “pregnancies” showing an association in the unexpected direction, similar to our findings by sex. Other studies of environmental risk factors and ASD suggest sex‐specific effects [Kern et al, ; Lyall, Croen, Weiss, et al, ; Roberts et al, ; Schaafsma & Pfaff, ], but small numbers of affected females often limit the ability to study sex differences in ASD etiology.…”

Does Vitamin D Deficiency in Different Periods of Gestation Have the Same Effect on Preterm Birth? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A total of 1639 were excluded after reading titles and/or abstracts, and 75 articles were subjected to a full-text review. After reading the full text, a total of 24 cohorts were invited to participate, which included 13 cohort studies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], seven case-control studies [40][41][42][43][44][45][46] and four cross-sectional studies [47][48][49][50].…”

Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels and affecting factors among preconception fertile women

“…Women working in an institutional setting, young women and living in winter are more prone to vitamin D de ciency due to reduced solar exposure. Decreased serum vitamin D levels among preconception fertile women may predispose to increased risk for adverse pregnancy [13,26]. Therefore, we propose that healthy fertile women who are pregnancy in following 3-6 months may be screened for serum 25…”

“…For the stepwise multiple linear regression analysis ( This is alarming as those women are planning to get pregnant because routine pre-conception check-up projects (Women receive routine pre-pregnancy check-up at 3-6 months before they became pregnant in China) do not include measurement of serum 25(OH)D. Several studies have described an association between insu ciency or de ciency in 25(OH)D levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes including gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, recurrent abortion, and intrauterine growth restriction [24,25,26]. More recent data showed that preconception vitamin D status was associated with male live birth [27].…”