Abstract

HIGH PREVALENCE OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN AND THEIR NEWBORNS

*Dhamyaa Yousif Fattah and Hanan Jasim Mohammed

Abstract

An increasing number of studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is associated with multiple adverse health outcomes in mothers, neonates, and children. There are no representative country data available on vitamin D status of pregnant women in Europe. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Belgian pregnant women and to assess the determinants of vitamin D status in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. The women were selected via a multi-stage proportionateto- size sampling design. Blood samples were collected and a questionnaire was completed face-to-face. 55 obstetric clinics were randomly selected and 1311 pregnant women participated in the study. The median serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH) D] concentration was significantly lower in the first trimester (20.4 ng/ml) than in third trimester (22.7 ng/ml). Of all women, 74.1% (95%CI = 71.8-76.5%) were vitamin D insufficient (25-(OH)D

Keywords: Prevalence, Deficiency, Newborns.