Abstracts of the Asian Congress of Nutrition 2019

Abstract

Background/Aims: Insufficient vitamin D status has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes; thus, it has been recognized as a public health concern. There have been no published data on vitamin D status in Bangladeshi pregnant women. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 522 pregnant women, with a gestational age of <20 weeks. Sociodemographic, pregnancy, and health related information were collected. Serum vitamin D concentration was measured. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to deter-mine the association of sociodemographic and pregnancy-re-lated factors with vitamin D deficiency. Results: Overall, 8.5% of the subjects had vitamin D deficiency (serum vitamin D level <25 nmol/L), 56.3% had vitamin D insufficiency (serum vita-min D level between 25–50 nmol/L), and the rest of them (35.2%) had adequate vitamin D status (serum vitamin D level more than 50 nmol/L). Serum vitamin D levels in pregnant women were significantly associated with their age (r = 0.261; p = 0.0001), parity (r = 0.296; p = 0.0001), and gestational age (r = 0.101; p = 0.022). Pregnant women with higher parity and higher gestational age were significantly less likely to have vita-min D insufficiency or deficiency. Conclusions: This study revealed a high prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among rural Bangladeshi pregnant women. Vitamin D status was found to be independently associated with parity and gestational age. Further research to identify various lifestyle factors, including exposure to sunlight, is needed to develop appropriate intervention program for preventing vitamin D deficiency in this population.