Association Between Maternal Vitamin D Status and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Aim: To investigate whether maternal serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in the first trimester is associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of a cohort of pregnant women who had undergone routine genetic multiple marker screening and subsequent glucose tolerance testing. Twenty-five women with GDM and 208 controls without GDM were included in this study. Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Mean 25(OH)D concentrations at 11-14 weeks of gestation were not significantly different in women who subsequently developed GDM compared with those who did not (mean ± standard deviation: 13.96 9.05 versus 13.43±9.72; p=0.8). The prevalence of first-trimester severe 25(OH)D deficiency (<10 ng/mL) was similar between women with GDM and healthy controls (44% vs. 44.7%, respectively; p=0.9). The mean concentration of 25(OH)D slightly increased over the two gestational age windows both in women with GDM [mean ∆25(OH)D: 0.25±5.8 ng/mL] and controls [mean ∆25(OH)D: 0.84±12.84 ng/mL], but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.8). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy is not significantly associated with elevated risk of GDM.

Keywords

• Severe vitamin D deficiency
• gestational diabetes mellitus
• pregnancy