Prevalence of vitamin D3 deficiency in antenatal cases in a Tertiary Care Center

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D is an essential fat soluble vitamin which has been called as a prohormone off lately. Vitamin D during pregnancy has been associated with numerous adverse health outcomes in both mother and offspring with short and long term effects. Despite the above mentioned facts, a search into literature reveals only a few such studies highlighting the currently prevailing spectrum of vitamin D deficiency as a whole. Method: In this cross sectional study, conducted at Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Memorial Central Railway Hospital, Byculla, Mumbai, 100 antenatal patients admitted to the hospital and attending outpatient department were studied over a period of one year. All antenatal females above 18 years at their first antenatal visit were enrolled in this study after ruling out the exclusion criteria. Results: Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 90% while insufficiency was present in 6%. Vitamin D deficiency/ Insufficiency wears observed in 98.5% of multi gravid females compared to 90.6% primi females. Complications were observed in about 20% antenatal females. 8.3% cases with vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency had no sun exposure as compared to 59.4% cases which had 30 minutes of sun exposure daily and 32.3% cases which had >30 minutes of sun exposure each day. Conclusion: A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency found in this study makes this screening and treatment necessary. Until the adequate treatment of vitamin D deficient pregnant women is established, a safe approach may be to correct vitamin D deficiency by targeting pregnant women at high risk of severe vitamin D deficiency. In settings where facilities for vitamin D testing are not easily available, it is advisable to supplement all pregnant women with vitamin D in 2^nd and 3^rd trimester with 400IU/day.