Effect of Maternal Vitamin D Status on Vitamin D Levels in Early Infancy, in a Tertiary Care Centre in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is reported to be prevalent across all age groups in epidemic proportions worldwide including neighbouring countries of Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, data on vitamin D status in infants and mothers is lacking and there is no routine supplementation programme, especially in the state sector. Vitamin D deficiency in a population could be multi factorial including limited sun exposure and changing life styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate maternal vitamin D status and its effect on infant level, in a state sector tertiary centre in Sri Lanka. Methods: We did this prospective cohort study in 115 healthy pregnant mothers. Blood was collected for 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone biochemical parameters. Results: Subclinical vitamin D deficiency ( 65.5 pg/mL) in 4%, 19%, 9% in pregnant mothers, lactating mothers and infants respectively. Majority of deficient and insufficient (<20 ng/mL) mothers and infants didn't have secondary hyperparathyroidism. Conclusions: This study concluded that subclinical vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is found in mothers and their offspring from a tertiary care centre in Sri Lanka. Low maternal 25(OH)D during pregnancy was a risk factor for deficiency in the infant. We suggest further studies on vitamin D levels in a nationally representative sample of mothers and infants to confirm our findings to take a step forward to formulate guidelines for supplementation. In addition, longitudinal studies to evaluate effects of deficiency in infants in Sri Lanka are worthwhile. Further, absence of an expected rise of PTH in deficiency/insufficiency warrants further evaluation of biological significance of PTH in vitamin D deficiency. Funding Statement: Financial assistance by university research grant (Grant No: ASP/01/RE/MED/2015/40). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka (Reference No: 22/16). Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants. All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee.