Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2019 Dec 13;11(12):3042.
doi: 10.3390/nu11123042.

First Trimester Maternal Vitamin D Status and Risks of Preterm Birth and Small-For-Gestational Age

Isabelle Monier  1   2 , Amandine Baptiste  3 , Vassilis Tsatsaris  4 , Marie-Victoire Senat  5 , Jacques Jani  6 , Jean-Marie Jouannic  7 , Norbert Winer  8 , Caroline Elie  3 , Jean-Claude Souberbielle  9 , Jennifer Zeitlin  1 , Alexandra Benachi  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

First Trimester Maternal Vitamin D Status and Risks of Preterm Birth and Small-For-Gestational Age

Isabelle Monier et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) deficiency during pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm and small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth, but studies report conflicting results. We used a multicenter prospective cohort of 2813 pregnant women assessed for 25-OHD levels in the first trimester of pregnancy to investigate the association between maternal 25-OHD concentrations and risks of preterm birth (<37 weeks) and SGA (birthweight <10th percentile). Odds ratios were adjusted (aOR) for potential cofounders overall and among women with light and dark skin separately, based on the Fitzpatrick scale. 25-OHD concentrations were <20 ng/mL for 45.1% of the cohort. A total of 6.7% of women had a preterm birth. The aOR for preterm birth associated with the 1st quartile of 25-OHD concentrations compared to the 4th quartile was 1.53 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-2.43). In stratified analyses, an association was observed for women with darker skin (aOR = 2.89 (95% CI: 1.02-8.18)), and no association with lighter skin. A total of 11.9% of births were SGA and there was no association overall or by skin color. Our results do not provide support for an association between maternal first trimester 25-OHD deficiency and risk of preterm or SGA birth overall; the association with preterm birth risk among women with darker skin requires further investigation.

Keywords: 25-hydroxyvitamin D; pregnancy; preterm birth; skin color; small-for-gestational age; vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

J.-C.S. reports lecture fees and/or travel/hotel expenses from DiaSorin, Roche Diagnostics, Abbott, Amgen, Shire, MSD, Lilly, and Rottapharm/Meda. The other authors report no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between 25-OHD concentrations in the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of preterm (a) and SGA birth (b) in the overall sample.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between 25-OHD concentrations in the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of preterm (a) and SGA birth (b) for women with light skin (type I to type IV).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between 25-OHD concentrations in the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of preterm (a) and SGA birth (b) for women with dark skin (type V to type VI).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Holick M.F., Chen T.C. Vitamin D deficiency: A worldwide problem with health consequences. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008;87:1080S–1086S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/87.4.1080S. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hensel K.J., Randis T.M., Gelber S.E., Ratner A.J. Pregnancy-specific association of vitamin D deficiency and bacterial vaginosis. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 2011;204:41e1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2010.08.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hillier S.L., Nugent R.P., Eschenbach D.A., Krohn M.A., Gibbs R.S., Martin D.H., Cotch M.F., Edelman R., Pastorek J.G., 2nd, Rao A.V., et al. Association between bacterial vaginosis and preterm delivery of a low-birth-weight infant. The Vaginal Infections and Prematurity Study Group. N. Engl. J. Med. 1995;333:1737–1742. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199512283332604. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Specker B. Vitamin D requirements during pregnancy. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004;80:1740S–1747S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1740S. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aghajafari F., Nagulesapillai T., Ronksley P.E., Tough S.C., O’Beirne M., Rabi D.M. Association between maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ. 2013;346:f1169. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f1169. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types