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Cord blood vitamin D status and neonatal outcomes in a birth cohort in Quebec, Canada

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Some evidence suggests that low maternal vitamin D status adversely affects perinatal health but few studies have examined cord blood vitamin D status. This project aimed to determine the association between the cord blood concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and neonatal outcomes.

Methods

A nested case–control study was conducted in Quebec City, Canada from 2005 to 2010. Included were 83 cases of low birthweight (LBW; <2500 g), 301 cases of small for gestational age (SGA; <10th percentile), 223 cases of preterm birth (PTB; <37 weeks’ gestation), and 1027 controls. Levels of 25(OH)D were determined by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated with logistic regression.

Results

Cord blood [25(OH)D] <50 nmol/L was associated with a lower risk of LBW compared to [25(OH)D] ≥75 nmol/L (OR 0.47 95 % CI 0.23–0.97). For 25(OH)D levels 50–75 nmol/L, a significant association was not demonstrated (OR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.34–1.01). No significant associations were observed between [25(OH)D] and either SGA or PTB after adjustment.

Conclusions

Although our findings suggest that [25(OH)D] <50 nmol/L is associated with reduced risk of having a LBW infant, prenatal vitamin D recommendations require an examination of the literature that considers the full spectrum of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research provided funding for this study (Operating Grant 244113). We acknowledge Madonna Achkar and Sherry Agellon from Dr. Hope Weiler’s laboratory at McGill University for their contribution in analyzing the cord blood samples. We thank Nathalie Bernard and Mylène Badeau from the Quebec City team for their professional assistance with the project, and our research nurses for the recruitment of participants and retrieval of data from the medical records. We acknowledge Anne Spencer for her assistance in data management and supplementary analyses. We also thank all study participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Centre for Clinical Research, Dalhousie University, 5790 University Avenue, Halifax, NS, B3H 1V7, Canada

    Catherine Morgan & Donald B. Langille

  2. Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, 5980 University Avenue, PO Box 9700, Halifax, NS, B3K 6R8, Canada

    Linda Dodds & Christy G. Woolcott

  3. School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, MS2042a Macdonald Stewart Bldg, 21111 Lakeshore Rd, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada

    Hope A. Weiler

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dalhousie University, 5980 University Avenue, PO Box 9700, Halifax, NS, B3K 6R8, Canada

    B. Anthony Armson

  5. Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Centre, Université Laval, 10, rue de l’Espinay, Quebec, QC, G1L 3L5, Canada

    Jean-Claude Forest & Yves Giguère

Authors
  1. Catherine Morgan
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  2. Linda Dodds
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  3. Donald B. Langille
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  4. Hope A. Weiler
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  6. Jean-Claude Forest
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  8. Christy G. Woolcott
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christy G. Woolcott.

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Conflict of interest

The authors do not have a financial relationship with the organization that sponsored this research. The authors had full control of all primary data and agree to allow the Journal to review their data if requested.

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Morgan, C., Dodds, L., Langille, D.B. et al. Cord blood vitamin D status and neonatal outcomes in a birth cohort in Quebec, Canada. Arch Gynecol Obstet 293, 731–738 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-3899-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-3899-3

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