A new study reveals a strong connection between vitamin D levels in pregnant women during the first trimester and both fetal growth and the risk of preterm birth. Women with insufficient vitamin D levels were found to have a significantly higher risk of delivering prematurely, while higher levels were associated with healthier fetal development.
Researchers have uncovered a significant link between vitamin D levels in pregnant women during the first trimester and both preterm birth risk and fetal growth . A secondary analysis of data from a multisite prospective cohort study involving 351 first-time mothers in the United States revealed that women with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations below 40 nmol/L in their first trimester had a 4.35 times higher risk of delivering prematurely.
Conversely, higher 25(OH)D levels during this critical period showed a positive correlation with healthy fetal linear growth patterns.The study, led by Celeste Beck from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, involved measuring serum 25(OH)D levels at 6-13 weeks and 16-21 weeks of gestation. Fetal growth was meticulously tracked using ultrasound at 16-21 weeks and 22-29 weeks, and neonatal anthropometric measurements were taken at birth. Researchers constructed fetal growth curves using length, weight, and head circumference z-scores to analyze the data. To ensure a representative sample, participants were randomly selected to reflect the original distribution, with 16% experiencing adverse pregnancy outcomes and 84% without. Inclusion criteria included an age of 18 years or older and a body mass index of 18.5 or higher. The findings revealed that each 10 nmol/L increase in first trimester 25(OH)D was associated with a 0.05 (95% CI, 0.01-0.10) increase in length-for-age z-score. Notably, participants with a first trimester 25(OH)D level of 80 nmol/L exhibited the most favorable fetal growth patterns. The study found that vitamin D insufficiency was prevalent in 20% of participants, with an average 25(OH)D concentration of 68.1 (SD, 21.0) nmol/L.While the authors emphasize the importance of optimizing vitamin D status in early pregnancy, they acknowledge limitations in their study. The relatively small sample size and limited number of participants with very low vitamin D levels (below 30 nmol/L) restricted their ability to make definitive comparisons between fetal growth and birth outcomes for those with severe deficiency. The small number of small-for-gestational-age and preterm birth cases also imposed constraints on the statistical models used in the analysis. Despite these limitations, the study provides compelling evidence for the critical role of vitamin D in supporting both maternal and fetal health during the first trimester of pregnancy.
VITAMIND PREGNANCY FETAL GROWTH PRETERM BIRTH FIRST TRIMESTER
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