Vitamin D in Fetal Development: Findings From a Birth Cohort Study
Pediatrics – Online Dec 2014
Prue H. Hart, PhDa, Robyn M. Lucas, MBChBa,b, John P. Walsh, MBBSc,d, Graeme R. Zosky, PhDa,e, Andrew J.O. Whitehouse, PhDa, Kun Zhu, PhDc,d, Karina L. Allen, PhDa,f, Merci M. Kusel, MBBSa, Denise Anderson, MBiostata, and Jenny A. Mountain, MBAa
A Telethon Kids Institute,
D School of Medicine and Pharmacology, and
F School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia;
B College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;
C Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Australia; and
E School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Birth cohort studies provide an invaluable resource for studies of the influence of the fetal environment on health in later life. It is uncertain to what extent maternal vitamin D status influences fetal development. Using an unselected community-based cohort of 901 mother-offspring pairs (the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort [Raine] Study), we examined the relationship between maternal vitamin D deficiency at 18 weeks’ pregnancy and long-term health outcomes of offspring who were born in Perth, Western Australia (32° South), in 1989–1991. Vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] <50 nmol/L) was present in 36% (323 of 901) of the pregnant women. After adjusting for relevant covariates, maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy was associated with
- impaired lung development in 6-year-old offspring,
- neurocognitive difficulties at age 10,
- increased risk of eating disorders in adolescence, and
- lower peak bone mass at 20 years.
In summary, vitamin D may have an important, multifaceted role in the development of fetal lungs, brain, and bone. Experimental animal studies support an active contribution of vitamin D to organ development. Randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women with long-term follow-up of offspring are urgently required to examine whether the correction of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women is beneficial for their offspring and to determine the optimal level of maternal serum 25(OH)D for fetal development.
Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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See also Vitamin D Life
- Still short at 1 year if mother had low level of vitamin D – April 2014
- More vitamin D during pregnancy made for higher mental scores at 14 months – Dec 2012
- Higher vitamin D in pregnancy resulted in 2X better infant psychomotor and mental scores – Sept 2012
- Low maternal vitamin D level at 4 months associated with 3X more lung problems in boys – May 2014