Lower vitamin D levels are associated with increased risk of early-onset neonatal sepsis in term infants.
J Perinatol. 2014 Aug 7. doi: 10.1038/jp.2014.146.
Cetinkaya M1, Cekmez F2, Buyukkale G1, Erener-Ercan T1, Demir F1, Tunc T2, Aydın FN3, Aydemir G2.
1 Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
2 Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Department of Neonatology, Istanbul, Turkey.
3 Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, Istanbul, Turkey.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of vitamin D levels on early-onset sepsis (EOS) in term infants.
Study Design: Fifty term infants with clinical and laboratory findings of EOS (study group) and 50 healthy infants with no signs of clinical/laboratory infection (control group) were enrolled. Blood was drawn at the time of admission during the first 3 postnatal days of life in both groups for measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels.
Result: Maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels (22.2/8.6 ng ml-1, respectively) in the study group were significantly lower than those of the control group (36.2/19 ng ml-1, respectively, P<0.001). A positive correlation was detected between maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels. Severe vitamin D deficiency was significantly more common in the sepsis group.
Conclusion: Lower maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels are associated with EOS. These data suggest that adequate vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may be helpful to prevent EOS in term neonates.
PMID: 25102323
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Summary by VitaminDWiki
| Infants | Vitamin D level |
| Sepsis | 22 ng |
| Controls | 36 ng |
Note: Infant sepsis even more likely for premature or low birth weight infants
Both are associated with low vitamin D
Sepsis in neonates 5X more likely if vitamin D less than 30 ng – Dec 2014
Cord-blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of early-onset neonatal sepsis: a case-control study from a tertiary care center in Turkey.
Eur J Pediatr. 2014 Dec 12.
Cizmeci MN1, Kanburoglu MK, Akelma AZ, Ayyildiz A, Kutukoglu I, Malli DD, Tatli MM.
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Fatih University Medical School, Alparslan Turkes Cd., Emek, 06510, Ankara, Turkey, nevzatcizmeci at gmail.com.
Vitamin D has been linked with immunity, and the immunomodulatory role of this molecule in regulating key elements of the immune system has become an area of intense scientific investigation. We designed a case-control study to investigate whether neonates with early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) had lower levels of vitamin D. The primary exposure for the analysis in the study was the cord-blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). Of the 2571 live births occurring during the 18-month study period, 53 infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with suspected EONS. After clinical and laboratory confirmation, 40 newborns with EONS and 43 controls were analyzed. Cord-blood 25(OH)D levels of infants in the study group were significantly lower than that of the control group (median 12.6 ng/mL (3.1-78.9) vs. 21 (5-118); p = 0.038, respectively).
In multivariate models, a low cord-blood 25(OH)D level (<30 ng/ml) was associated with an increased risk of EONS (OR = 5.6; 95 % CI = 1.3-23.5).
Conclusion: Cord-blood 25(OH)D levels of neonates with EONS were significantly lower than that of the healthy controls, and a low level of cord-blood vitamin D was found to be associated with an increased risk of EONS. Further studies are warranted to confirm this association.
PMID: 25504199
See also VitaminDWiki
- Sepsis is both prevented and treated by Vitamin D - many studies
- Treatment of neonate sepsis greatly aided by Vitamin D – RCT June 2019
- Sepsis in first year of life is much more likely if preterm (low Vitamin D) – May 2017
- Antibiotics and Vitamin D are associated with many of the same diseases
be aware: sepsis is often treated with antibiotics, which reduces vitamin D and causes many other problems