Hypovitaminosis D in healthy pregnant women and their newborns in Greece.

Background/Objectives: The aim of this work was to evaluate the current vitamin D status in healthy pregnant women and their newborns living in Greece and assess possible associations between 25(OH)D and anthropometric features of their fetuses and newborns. Materials & Methods: 81 healthy women were monitored during pregnancy. Biochemical markers related to bone metabolism, 25(OH)D and PTH levels were measured in serum samples of mother-newborn pairs at 1st trimester of pregnancy and at delivery in mothers, in cord blood and at the 3rd day of life of newborns. Results: Maternal 25(OH)D levels at the 1st trimester of pregnancy (22.6 +/- 9.2ng/ml) were significantly higher than those at delivery (19.2 +/- 9.2ng/ml) (p<0.001). Furthermore, umbilical 25(OH)D levels (21.3 +/- 9.3ng/ml) were higher than maternal at delivery (p=0.005) and neonatal levels (19.4 +/- 10.4 ng/ml) (p=0.021). Only 57.3% of the mothers at the first trimester and 46.7% at delivery as well as 55.8% of the fetuses and 38.5% of the neonates had adequate vitamin D levels (25(OH)D >= 30ng/ml). A significant positive correlation was found between fetal femur length at the 22nd week of gestation and maternal 25(OH)D at the 1st trimester of pregnancy (r=0.36, p=0.048) while body length was significantly higher in newborns whose mothers had sufficient 25(OH)D levels (51.5 +/- 2.1cm) compared with those whose mothers had insufficient or deficient 25(OH)D levels at delivery (50.6 +/- 2.0cm) (p=0.047). Conclusion: The study confirms inadequate levels of vitamin D in pregnant women in Greece associated with inadequate vitamin D levels of their fetuses and newborns.