Associations of Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency with Pregnancy and Neonatal Complications in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review
Nutrients 2018, 10(5), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10050640 (registering DOI)
Paige van der Pligt 1,* , Jane Willcox 2,3, Ewa A. Szymlek-Gay 1, Emily Murray 2, Anthony Worsley 1OrcID and Robin M. Daly 1
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changing Times for Vitamin D and Health)
Deficiency definition varied between the studies: < 20 ng and < 15 ng
They did not look at associations of low Vitamin D after leaving hospital (infant, not neonate)
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Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D has the following summary
Problem | Vit. D Reduces | Evidence |
0. Chance of not conceiving | 3.4 times | Observe |
1. Miscarriage | 2.5 times | Observe |
2. Pre-eclampsia | 3.6 times | RCT |
3. Gestational Diabetes | 3 times | RCT |
4. Good 2nd trimester sleep quality | 3.5 times | Observe |
5. Premature birth | 2 times | RCT |
6. C-section - unplanned | 1.6 times | Observe |
Stillbirth - OMEGA-3 | 4 times | RCT - Omega-3 |
7. Depression AFTER pregnancy | 1.4 times | RCT |
8. Small for Gestational Age | 1.6 times | meta-analysis |
9. Infant height, weight, head size within normal limits | RCT | |
10. Childhood Wheezing | 1.3 times | RCT |
11. Additional child is Autistic | 4 times | Intervention |
12.Young adult Multiple Sclerosis | 1.9 times | Observe |
13. Preeclampsia in young adult | 3.5 times | RCT |
14. Good motor skills @ age 3 | 1.4 times | Observe |
15. Childhood Mite allergy | 5 times | RCT |
16. Childhood Respiratory Tract visits | 2.5 times | RCT |
RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial
Pregnancy category starts with
- see also
- Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D
- Number of articles in both categories of Pregnancy and:Dark Skin
28 ; Depression 21 ; Diabetes 44 ; Obesity 16 ; Hypertension 44 ; Breathing 35 ; Omega-3 42 ; Vitamin D Receptor 24 Click here for details - All items in category Infant/Child
845 items - Pregnancy needs at least 40 ng of vitamin D, achieved by at least 4,000 IU – Hollis Aug 2017
- 38+ papers with Breastfed etc, in the title
- Call to action – more Vitamin D for pregnancies, loading doses are OK – Holick Aug 2019
- 53+ preeclampsia studies
- 94+ studies with PRETERM in the title
- Fertility problem (PCOS) reduced by vitamin D: many studies 15+
- 94+ Gestational Diabetes
- Caesarean birth much more likely if low Vitamin D - many studies 15+ studies
- Post-partum depression and low Vitamin D - many studies 15+ studies
- Stillbirth reduced by Vitamin D, Zinc, Omega-3 - several studies 5+ studies
- Search VitaminDWiki for "Assisted reproduction" 33 items as of Aug 2022
- Fertility and Sperm category listing has
140 items along with related searches - (Stunting OR “low birth weight” OR LBW) 1180 items as of June 2020
- Less labor pain if higher level of vitamin D – August 2021
- Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D
- Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception
Infant-Child category has
845 items in the category Infant/Child See also - 34 pages in VitaminDWiki had BREASTFE*in title as of Jan 2022
- "BIRTH DEFECTS" 172 items as of July 2016
- Stunting OR “low birth weight” OR LBW OR preemie OR preemies OR preterm 1940 items as of Oct 2018
- 96 VitaminDWiki pages contained PRETERM or PREEMIE in title as of Aug 2021
- "SUDDEN INFANT DEATH" OR SIDS 214 items as of Dec 2020
- Overview of Rickets and Vitamin D
- Youth category listing has
174 items along with related searches - Down's syndrome and low vitamin D - several studies
- Rett syndrome associated with low vitamin D, treated by Omega-3
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Note that
+: significant association between VDD and the outcome in question;
-: no significant association.
When neither + or - is given indicated that outcome was not assessed.Maternal
PE pre-eclampsia GDM gestational diabetes mellitus GHTN gestational hypertension OHD oligohydramnios PROM premature rupture of membrane SROM spontaneous rupture of membranes IFD Intrauterine Fetal Death (death of fetus after 20 weeks) NICU neonatal intensive care unit HC head circumference CM congenital malformation SGA small for gestational age PH prolonged hospitalization Macro macrosomia Post MB post mature birth MMAP mean maternal arterial pressure W zscore wasting z score Neonate
* PPO poor pregnancy outcomes (grouped by study researchers)
PPD postpartum depression
PC perinatal complications risk. Grouped outcomes:
Mode of Delivery (includes vaginal delivery and lower segment caesarean section),
Birth weight (includes low birth weight),
Congenital Malformation (includes Bony Abnormality),
Stunted Growth (includes Impaired Fetal Growth),
Still birth/IFD (includes mortality).
Pregnant women in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are at risk of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and prevalence throughout these regions are among the highest, globally. Maternal VDD has been associated with increased risk of a number of adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes, yet research from developing countries is limited. We assessed the associations of maternal VDD during pregnancy with adverse health outcomes by synthesizing the literature from observational studies conducted in developing countries. Six electronic databases were searched for English-language studies published between 2000 and 2017.
Thirteen studies from seven countries were included in the review.
Prevalence of VDD ranged from 51.3% to 100%.
Six studies assessed both maternal and neonatal outcomes, four studies assessed only maternal outcomes and three studies assessed only neonatal outcomes.
Ten studies showed at least one significant association between VDD and adverse maternal and/or neonatal health outcomes including- pre-eclampsia (n = 3),
- gestational diabetes mellitus (n = 1),
- postpartum depression (n = 1),
- emergency cesarean section delivery (n = 1),
- low birth weight babies (n = 4),
- small for gestational age (n = 2), stunting (n = 1).
However most of these studies (n = 6) also showed no association with multiple health outcomes.
Vitamin D assessment methods, criteria applied to define VDD, season and trimester in which studies were conducted varied considerably across studies. In conclusion, this study highlights the need to improve maternal vitamin D status in developing countries in an effort to support best maternal and child health outcomes across these regions. Future research should focus on more unified approaches to vitamin D assessment and preventative approaches that may be embedded into already existing antenatal care settingsVitamin D needed by pregnant women and neonates (in developing countries now too - 2 tables) – May 20186462 visitors, last modified 19 May, 2018, This page is in the following categories (# of items in each category)Attached files
ID Name Uploaded Size Downloads 9877 Neonate.jpg admin 19 May, 2018 76.24 Kb 508 9876 Maternal.jpg admin 19 May, 2018 73.87 Kb 484 9875 Pregnancy and Neonatal Developing Countries.pdf admin 19 May, 2018 886.83 Kb 547
- All items in category Infant/Child