Vitamin D levels were significantly higher during and after lifestyle intervention in pregnancy: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnancy, especially in obese women. Lifestyle intervention could potentially result in higher levels of vitamin D. We therefore aimed to study the effect of lifestyle intervention during pregnancy on serum levels of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). Material and methods A total of 360 obese women were randomized before gestational age 14 weeks to lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) or routine clinical follow up (controls). Clinical outcomes and levels of 25(OH)D were determined three times: At gestational age 12‐15 weeks (baseline), gestational age 28‐30 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Results A total of 304 (84%) women completed the intervention study and 238 (66%) attended postpartum follow up. Vitamin D levels were similar in the two groups at baseline. At gestational age 28‐30 weeks and 6 months postpartum, 25(OH)D levels were significantly higher in the intervention group than in controls (75.6 vs 66.8 nmol/L, P = 0.009) and (54.8 vs 43.1 nmol/L, P = 0.013), respectively. Concurrently, vitamin D deficiency (25‐hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol/L) was less frequent in the intervention group than in controls: 15 vs 25% (P = 0.038) at gestational age 28‐30 and 45 vs 63% (P = 0.011) 6 months postpartum, respectively. Conclusions Lifestyle intervention during pregnancy was associated with significantly increased vitamin D levels in late pregnancy and postpartum compared with controls.

The effect of physical activity on vitamin D: A systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies in humans

“…We identified 946 articles through our database searches and three additional articles were identified through reference list searches. After removing duplicates, the titles and abstracts of 667 articles were screened; 123 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, 32 were included in the review [ [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] ] and 24 in the meta-analysis [ [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , 29 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , 51 ] ( Fig. 1 ).…”

“…The total number of participants per study varied from 13[ 28 ] to 855 [ 39 ]. Only five studies recruited more than 100 participants [ 24 , 27 , 39 , 44 , 46 ]. Twelve studies recruited only female participants and six only male participants.…”

“…In most studies the physical activity interventions were supervised but two home-based physical activity programs were unsupervised [ 26 , 40 ] and two studies had both supervised training sessions and unsupervised home-based sessions [ 39 , 44 ]. Six studies did not clearly state whether the physical activity sessions were supervised or not [ 36 , 38 , [46] , [47] , [48] , 52 ].…”

“…In one study, participants were encouraged to be moderately physically active and were supplied with a pedometer; however, no information was included in the paper about the location of their activity. The participants in this study also had access to a supervised session at a fitness centre [ 44 ].…”

The Influence of Sunlight Exposure and Sun Protecting Behaviours on Allergic Outcomes in Early Childhood

“…While environmental changes are multifactorial, one consistent factor has been a shift from an outdoor to an increasingly indoor lifestyle culture, with greater reliance on digital technology for work and recreation. This global phenomenon [6] affecting all age groups, including during pregnancy and infancy [7][8][9], has led to reduced levels of UV light exposure. UV light plays a crucial role in vitamin D synthesis with an estimated 90 to 95% of human vitamin D provided by cutaneous synthesis under the influence of UVB light [7].…”