Vitamin D Status in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns in Karaj: A Cross-Sectional Study in Iran

Abstract

<strong><em><span>Background</span></em></strong><br /> <span>Pregnant women and newborns are at risk of vitamin D deficiency. This study aimed to determine the </span><span>vitamin D status in pregnant women andtheir newborns</span><span> in </span><span>Karaj, Iran</span><span lang="FA" dir="RTL">.</span><br /> <strong><em><span>Materials and Methods</span></em></strong><br /> <span>This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2014 to October 2015. A total of 151 pregnant women and 154 newborns (three twin cases) were included in the study. After obtaining 5 ml venous blood samples from mothers and 5 ml blood from the umbilical cord of newborns, 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] was measured by ELISA method. Serum level of 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml was considered deficiency, 21-29 ng/ml was </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">considered insufficient</span><span> and 30-100 ng/ml was considered sufficient. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0.</span><br /> <strong><em><span>Results</span></em></strong><br /> <span>The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its insufficiency was 93.5% and 6.5% for pregnant women, 94.2% and 3.9% for newborns, respectively. The mean 25(OH)D concentration in pregnant women and newborns was estimated to be 10.649±5.967 ng/ml and 10.574±6.280 ng/ml, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the mean 25(OH)D concentration in mothers and their newborns (r=0.913 and p<0.001); 92.9% of mothers and their newborns had vitamin D deficiency simultaneously. </span><br /> <strong><em><span>Conclusion</span></em></strong><br /> <span>The results of this study showed that overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiencies (levels </span>