Abstract
BackgroundVitamin D deficiency is common among otherwise healthy pregnant women and may have consequences for them as well as the early development and long-term health of their children. However, the importance of maternal vitamin D status on offspring health later in life has not been widely studied. The present study includes an in-depth examination of the influence of exposure to vitamin D early in life for development of fractures of the wrist, arm and clavicle; obesity, and type 1 diabetes (T1D) during child- and adulthood.Methods/designThe study is based on the fact that in 1961 fortifying margarine with vitamin D became mandatory in Denmark and in 1972 low fat milk fortification was allowed. Apart from determining the influences of exposure prior to conception and during prenatal life, we will examine the importance of vitamin D exposure during specific seasons and trimesters, by comparing disease incidence among individuals born before and after fortification. The Danish National databases assure that there are a sufficient number of individuals to verify any vitamin D effects during different gestation phases. Additionally, a validated method will be used to determine neonatal vitamin D status using stored dried blood spots (DBS) from individuals who developed the aforementioned disease entities as adults and their time and gender-matched controls.DiscussionThe results of the study will contribute to our current understanding of the significance of supplementation with vitamin D. More specifically, they will enable new research in related fields, including interventional research designed to assess supplementation needs for different subgroups of pregnant women. Also, other health outcomes can subsequently be studied to generate multiple health research opportunities involving vitamin D. Finally, the results of the study will justify the debate of Danish health authorities whether to resume vitamin D supplementation policies.
Highlights
Vitamin D deficiency is common among otherwise healthy pregnant women and may have consequences for them as well as the early development and long-term health of their children
The discovery of high-affinity vitamin D receptors (VDR) in many organs and cell types has led to an increasing focus on the role of vitamin D as a steroid hormone with significant influences on cell metabolism and proliferation
Low vitamin D during gestation and in early life may play an important role for susceptibility to bone fragility, obesity and autoimmune diseases later in life [6]
Summary
Vitamin D deficiency is common among otherwise healthy pregnant women and may have consequences for them as well as the early development and long-term health of their children. More and more attention is being paid to the importance of prenatal nutrition and the long-term influence of the mother’s nutrition for long-term health of the progeny, including the mother’s nutritional status prior to conception. Vitamin D Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is necessary for the human body It plays an important role in a wide variety of chronic health conditions. A recent study reported identification of as many as 2,776 sites of vitamin D receptor binding and 229 genes whose expression was directly linked to changes in vitamin D levels [2]. Many of these genes are involved in bone and muscle development, metabolism and immune function. Low vitamin D during gestation and in early life may play an important role for susceptibility to bone fragility, obesity and autoimmune diseases later in life [6]
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