Vitamin D Insufficiency Is Prevalent among Pregnant African American Adolescents
published online 30 July 2009.
Abstract
Study Objective
Recent attention has focused on vitamin D insufficiency but few data exist on vitamin D status among pregnant minority youth.
Design
A screening study was undertaken in adolescents having prenatal blood samples drawn for other routine tests obtained during the second trimester (18±1.8 week gestation, n=44) or third trimester of pregnancy (28.4±2.1 week gestation, n=36). Serum 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured and significant determinants of vitamin D insufficiency in this cohort were identified.
Setting
Urban prenatal clinic.
Participants
Eighty pregnant African American adolescents (≤ 18 y of age).
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Vitamin D status, STDs, hemoglobin, season, birth weight
Results
Serum 25(OH)D in this group averaged 21.6±8 ng/mL (age 16.5±1.1 y, n=80), and did not significantly differ between the second (20.95±8.2 ng/mL, n=44) and third trimester cohorts (22.5±7.9 ng/mL, n=36). Vitamin D insufficiency (< 20 ng/mL) was evident in 46.25% and vitamin D deficiency (<15 ng/mL) was evident in 21.25% of those studied. Significant predictors of suboptimal vitamin D status included sampling during the winter months (P=0.004), lower hemoglobin concentration (P=0.019), and higher second trimester leptin levels (P=0.018). Inverse associations between 25(OH)D and bacterial vaginosis were evident when controlled for season of sampling (P=0.02, n=80).
Conclusions
Vitamin D insufficiency was prevalent among urban pregnant minority adolescents. Further studies are needed to address the impact of this finding on maternal and neonatal calcium homeostasis and bone health.
1Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2Johns Hopkins Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
3Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
4Cornell University, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Ithaca, New York, USA
Address correspondence to: Kimberly O. O'Brien, PhD, Cornell University, Division of Nutritional Sciences, MVR 340, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
ABSTRACT