A systematic review of association between vitamin D levels and pre-eclampsia in pregnant womens - An old problem revisited

Abstract

The beneficial effects of sunlight in preventing bone-related disorders have been well-known for centuries. Vitamin D is a modified steroid, synthesised under the influence of sunlight in the skin. Low Vitamin D status has associated with a higher risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant womens. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of different studies investigating the association between Vitamin D levels and pre-eclampsia in pregnant womens. A systematic review was undertaken. MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, Google Scholar were searched. The review protocol was designed to answer the question. Search terms (Preeclampsia and Vitamin D or 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D). The search was confined to peer-reviewed articles that were published in English and contained an abstract. Reference list of journal articles were also screened for additional citations fitting our search criteria. Twenty-Seven studies were included in the systematic review that investigates the association between Vitamin D and pre-eclampsia. The present systematic review concludes that maternal vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is significantly associated with an elevated risk of preeclampsia. Pregnant womens should take vitamin D supplementation, expose themselves into the sunlight, and they should be physically active. Further taking Vitamin D supplementation in early pregnancy may be a simple way to reduce the risk of these adverse pregnancy outcomes.