Citation
Urrutia, Rachel P. & Thorp, John M., Jr. (2012). Vitamin D in Pregnancy: Current Concepts. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 24(2), 57-64. PMCID: PMC3709246Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Vitamin D is part of a complex steroid hormone system long known to be involved in bone metabolism. Recently, vitamin D has been implicated in physiologic processes as diverse as vascular health, immune function, metabolism and placental function. This review summarizes the current evidence for the role of vitamin D in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes A systematic review of articles published in PubMed between May 2010 and October 2011 was undertaken using key words for vitamin D and pregnancy. Seventy-eight studies were reviewed.RECENT FINDINGS: The biologic evidence regarding a role for vitamin D in reproductive outcomes is strong, and rates of vitamin D deficiency may be high among pregnant women. However, no consensus exists regarding optimum vitamin D levels in pregnancy or standard measurement of vitamin D deficiency. Clinical studies establishing an association between vitamin D levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, low birthweight, preterm labor, cesarean delivery and infectious diseases have conflicting results. This is likely due to a paucity of randomized trials, heterogeneity of populations studied and low sample size with poor adjustment for confounding among observational studies.
SUMMARY: Further research should focus on defining optimum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in pregnancy as well as among various subgroups of the population. Randomized trials are needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation can improve pregnancy outcomes. Currently, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Institute of Medicine recommend 600 IU of daily vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy to support maternal and fetal bone metabolism.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/GCO.0b013e3283505ab3Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2012Journal Title
Current Opinion in Obstetrics & GynecologyAuthor(s)
Urrutia, Rachel P.Thorp, John M., Jr.