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Associations between maternal vitamin D status during three trimesters and cord blood 25(OH)D concentrations in newborns: a prospective Shanghai birth cohort study

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Abstract

Purpose

Prenatal vitamin D (VitD) deficiency influences children’s health in later life. We aimed to test the associations between maternal VitD status in each of the three trimesters of pregnancy and cord blood 25(OH)D concentrations in newborns.

Methods

Participants were pregnant women recruited from the Shanghai Birth Cohort (SBC) (n = 1100). Of all the participants, 946 completed the collection of venous blood at early (< 16 weeks, T1), mid- (24–28 weeks, T2), and late (32–34 weeks, T3) pregnancy as well as the corresponding cord blood in the newborns. Maternal serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by LC–MS/MS, and the information on confounding factors was obtained through a standardized questionnaire.

Results

The mean 25(OH)D concentrations at time points T1, T2, T3 in maternal blood and cord blood of the newborns were 26.31 ng/mL, 31.92 ng/mL, 35.62 ng/mL, and 19.77 ng/mL, respectively. Neonatal 25(OH)D level in cord blood was positively correlated with maternal serum 25(OH)D levels at each trimester, and the strongest correlation was found at time point T3.

Conclusion

Maternal 25(OH)D concentrations at each trimester were positively associated with neonatal VitD status in cord blood, and the strongest correlation was found in the late stage of pregnancy, which could be considered as a sensitive time window. Attention should be paid to the nutritional status of VitD during pregnancy to better prevent the VitD deficiency in neonates.

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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study. And we would like to thank the participating doctors, midwives, and nurses for patient management.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81773411), National Key Research and Development Project of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFC1305204, and 2020YFC2008002), Medical and Engineering Cooperation Project of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Grant No. YG2017ZD15), Shanghai Children's Health Services Capacity Program (grant GDEK201708), the Science and Technology Commission Project of Shanghai Pudong New Area (Grant No. PKJ2017-Y05), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission— Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant Support (Grant No. 20152220), the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology Program (Grant No. 13JC1403700), “Eastern Scholar” project supported by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. ZXDF089002), and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders (Grant No. 13dz2260500, 14-K06). This study was partly funded by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and supported by the National Human Genetic Resources Sharing Service Platform (Grant No.2005DKA21300).

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Author notes

  1. Xirui Wang and Xianting Jiao contributed equally to this work.

  2. Mingqing Xu and Xiaodan Yu These authors jointly shared the senior authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1678 Dongfang Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 200127, China

    Xirui Wang, Yue Zhang, Juan Li, Fan Yang & Xiaodan Yu

  2. MOE-Shanghai Key Lab of Children’s Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Yangpu, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Xianting Jiao, Ying Tian, Jun Zhang & Xiaodan Yu

  3. Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Xuhui, Shanghai, 200030, China

    Mingqing Xu

  4. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center600 South Wanping Road, Xuhui, Shanghai, 200030, China

    Mingqing Xu

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  1. Xirui Wang
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for the Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

Contributions

The authors’ contributions were as follows—Xiaodan Yu, Mingqing Xu, Ying Tian, and Jun Zhang conceived of the research idea and designed the study; Xirui Wang, Xianting Jiao, Juan Li, and Fan Yang performed 25(OH)D measurements; Xirui Wang, Xianting Jiao, Mingqing Xu, and Yue Zhang analyzed the data and performed the statistical analysis; Xirui Wang and Xianting Jiao drafted the manuscript; Xiaodan Yu and Mingqing Xu revised the manuscript; Xiaodan Yu and Mingqing Xu supervised or mentored; Xiaodan Yu had primary responsibility for final content. Xiaodan Yu and Mingqing Xu jointly shared the senior authorship. All authors contributed important intellectual content during manuscript drafting or revision and are accountable for the overall work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mingqing Xu or Xiaodan Yu.

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Wang, X., Jiao, X., Tian, Y. et al. Associations between maternal vitamin D status during three trimesters and cord blood 25(OH)D concentrations in newborns: a prospective Shanghai birth cohort study. Eur J Nutr 60, 3473–3483 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02528-w

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