Hypovitaminosis D in pregnancy: Is it a public health issue?

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: to measure the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in healthy pregnant women and to analyze the association among some variables and the levels of vitamin D. Methods: an analytical cross-sectional study. 174 healthy pregnant women were selected from four basic health units in São Luís, Brazil, from January to February 2017. The participants answered a questionnaire about sociodemographic and obstetric data. A blood sample was collected to evaluate the plasmatic level of vitamin D. The association between independent variables and the outcome was evaluated by using the Student’s t-test and Chisquare test. Results: the mean of vitamin D concentration was 24.9±6.6ng/ml. Forty women (23.0%) presented vitamin D sufficiency, 93 (53.4%) insufficient, and 41 (23.6%) with deficiency. There was a difference in the vitamin D concentration between evangelical (23.1 ng/ml) and non-evangelical (25.5 ng/ml) (p=0.02) and between primigravida (23.8 ng/ml) and non-primigravida (25.7 ng/ml) (p=0.03). There was a difference in the hypovitaminosis D between adolescents (89.7%) and non-adolescents (72.6%) (p=0.02) and between primigravida (85.0%) and non-primigravida (69.2%) (p=0.01). Low monthly income per capita was associated with a higher frequency of vitamin D sufficiency. Conclusions: Due to the impact of inadequate levels of vitamin D in pregnant women and their babies’ health, even in an equatorial city, hypovitaminosis D in pregnant women is an important public health issue.

Keywords

• Vitamina D
• Deficiência de vitamina D
• Gravidez