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. 2023 Aug 7;15(15):3493.
doi: 10.3390/nu15153493.

Vitamin D Intake and Serum Levels in Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Laila Meija  1   2 , Anna Piskurjova  3 , Ksenija Nikolajeva  2   4 , Olga Aizbalte  3 , Roberta Rezgale  5 , Aivars Lejnieks  2   6 , Vinita Cauce  3
Affiliations

Vitamin D Intake and Serum Levels in Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Laila Meija et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Maternal vitamin D deficiency, which is highly prevalent in pregnant women in Europe, is linked to adverse health effects for both the mother and child. The objective was to assess vitamin D status in pregnant women by evaluating their dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake, serum vitamin D levels, parathyroid hormone levels, and lifestyle factors. This cross-sectional study, with a total of 735 participants (145 pregnant and 590 up to the seventh day postpartum), took place in Latvia. Blood samples, a food frequency questionnaire, and medical documentation were used for data collection. The median serum vitamin D concentration was 34.0 ng/mL, with pregnant women having higher levels (42.9 ng/mL) than postpartum women (31.8 ng/mL). There was no association between vitamin D serum concentration and dietary intake of vitamin D (p > 0.05), whereas there was a significant correlation with use of vitamin D supplements (r = 0.41; p < 0.001 in pregnant women and r = 0.35; p < 0.001 in postpartum women). This study demonstrated that a minority of pregnant women (21.9%) had optimal serum vitamin D concentration (>45 ng/mL), and diet had no significant impact on vitamin D levels. Thus, our proposed recommendation for vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 63 mcg (2500 IU) year-round for optimal levels in pregnant women in Northeastern Europe.

Keywords: dietary intake; pregnancy; supplementation; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vitamin D serum concentration by thresholds.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Vitamin D concentration in pregnant and postpartum women in different seasons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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