In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers examine the associations between prenatal vitamin D levels and growth and adiposity late in childhood.
Pregnancy and Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy has been recognized as a public health concern and is considered a modifiable early risk factor for several conditions, including obesity.
Previous studies have reported associations between prenatal vitamin D deficiency and poor fetal outcomes. Although cross-sectional studies have linked deficient vitamin D levels to the risk of being overweight/obese in adolescents and children, evidence for the causal role of prenatal levels of vitamin D in the childhood development of obesity is insufficient.
About the study
The present study examined associations between maternal vitamin D levels in early-mid pregnancy and growth and body composition in children aged 11 or younger. The researchers included data from four regions, including Valencia, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell, and Menorca of the Spanish population-based birth cohort.
Individuals aged 16 or older with singleton pregnancy and intentions for delivery in the reference hospital were eligible for inclusion. Plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Weight and height were measured, whereas BMI and sex- and age-standardized z-scores were calculated.
Tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analyses were performed. Fat-free mass was determined, with body fat values derived from the total weight.
Five BMI z-score trajectories were estimated using the latent class growth analysis. BMI polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were calculated for offspring of European ancestry using a reference genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BMI from the United Kingdom Biobank.
Linear regression was performed between BMI z-scores at seven years and individual PRSs, adjusting for the first 10 principal components. The PRS with the best fit was used for further analyses. Maternal and offspring characteristics were obtained using questionnaires administered during pregnancy or when the child was one year old.
General additive models were used to evaluate the association between vitamin D3 levels in pregnancy and various outcomes. Multivariable linear regression was performed to compute β-coefficients and 95% confidence intervals for the associations between prenatal vitamin D3 levels and offspring outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression estimated the association between binary outcomes.
News Medical/April 25, 2023