Could vitamin D3 be effective in prevention of risk of preeclampsia among pregnant women?

Abstract

Background Preeclampsia, a pregnancy disease marked by high blood pressure and proteinuria, affects 2–8% of all pregnancies. Preeclampsia can be life-threatening for both the mother and the fetus and is still a significant cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to assess if there was a link between maternal serum vitamin D3 levels and the severity of preeclampsia. Patients and methods A case–control study was conducted on 70 pregnant women at Shebin El Kom Teaching Hospital. All pregnant women were divided into two groups: group A included 30 apparently healthy pregnant women (control group) and group B included 40 pregnant patients with preeclampsia (patient group). Results The serum vitamin D levels of patients with preeclampsia were considerably lower than those of the control group. The serum level of vitamin D in patients with mild preeclampsia was substantially higher than in patients with severe preeclampsia. Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency in the mother is a significant risk factor for preeclampsia. Vitamin D deficiency was found to be associated with a higher risk of preeclampsia.

Keywords

• preeclampsia
• pregnant women
• severity
• vitamin d