Prenatal Vitamin D Intake, Cord Blood 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, and Offspring Body Composition: The Healthy Start Study.

Jill M Norris,Hallie J Koeppen,Dana Dabelea,Kathryn E Kalata,Katherine A Sauder,Alexandra V Stamatoiu,Allison L B Shapiro,Brandy M Ringham,Deborah H Glueck

doi:10.3390/nu9070790

Jill M Norris, Hallie J Koeppen + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9070790

Copy DOI

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy may be associated with increased offspring adiposity, but evidence from human studies is inconclusive. We examined associations between prenatal vitamin D intake, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in cord blood, and offspring size and body composition at birth and 5 months. Participants included 605 mother-offspring dyads from the Healthy Start study, an ongoing, pre-birth prospective cohort study in Denver, Colorado, USA. Prenatal vitamin D intake was assessed with diet recalls and questionnaires, and offspring body composition was measured via air displacement plethysmography at birth and 5 months. General linear univariate models were used for analysis, adjusting for maternal age, race/ethnicity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), offspring sex, and gestational age at birth. Non-Hispanic white race, lower pre-pregnancy BMI, higher prenatal vitamin D intake, and summer births were associated with higher cord blood 25(OH)D. Higher 25(OH)D was associated with lower birthweight (β = –6.22, p = 0.02), but as maternal BMI increased, this association became increasingly positive in direction and magnitude (β = 1.05, p = 0.04). Higher 25(OH)D was also associated with lower neonatal adiposity (β = –0.02, p < 0.05) but not after adjustment for maternal BMI (β = –0.01, p = 0.25). Cord blood 25(OH)D was not associated with offspring size or body composition at 5 months. Our data confirm the hypothesis that vitamin D exposure in early life is associated with neonatal body size and composition. Future research is needed to understand the implications of these associations as infants grow.

Highlights

The fetal programming hypothesis posits that prenatal malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, increases offspring risk for obesity throughout the lifespan [1]
While numerous studies have reported that higher maternal vitamin D intake is associated with increased prenatal and/or cord blood 25(OH)D levels [14,15,16,17], it is not clear whether this translates to an effect on neonatal adiposity
The analytic cohort was similar to the full Healthy Start cohort (n = 1410) in terms of maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), and gestational age at birth

Summary

Introduction

The fetal programming hypothesis posits that prenatal malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, increases offspring risk for obesity throughout the lifespan [1]. Prenatal vitamin D deficiency has been associated with pre-term birth [4,5], low birthweight [5,6], and small for gestational age offspring [5,6,7], while prenatal vitamin D. Current human evidence supporting the association between prenatal vitamin D intake, neonatal vitamin D status, and offspring adiposity is mixed. While numerous studies have reported that higher maternal vitamin D intake (from food and/or dietary supplements) is associated with increased prenatal and/or cord blood 25(OH)D levels [14,15,16,17], it is not clear whether this translates to an effect on neonatal adiposity. There is a notable lack of study on body composition during infancy, a time in which postnatal exposures (infant vitamin D supplementation, vitamin D-fortified formula use) may play a pivotal role in adiposity development

Methods

Results

Conclusion