Vitamin D Metabolites in Mother-Infant Dyads and Associated Clinical Outcomes in a Population of Nigerian Women

• Published in: Nutrients 2024-06, Vol.16 (12), p.1857
• Main Authors: Delair, Shirley, Anderson-Berry, Ann, Olateju, Eyinade, Akaba, Godwin, Medugu, Nubwa, Lyden, Elizabeth, Kaufmann, Martin, Jones, Glenville, Anigilaje, Emmanuel, Thairu, Yunusa, Kocmich, Nicholas, Ajose, Theresa, Olanipekun, Grace, Rezac-Elgohary, Amy, Obaro, Stephen, Hanson, Corrine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Babies; blood; Clinical outcomes; Enzymes; Female; Fetal Blood - chemistry; fetal development; Humans; Immune system; Infant, Newborn; Infections; liquid chromatography; Male; Metabolism; Metabolites; Mothers; Neonatal Sepsis; neonates; Newborn babies; Nigeria; Pilot projects; Pregnancy; Premature birth; Risk factors; Sepsis; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin deficiency; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16121857

Low levels of vitamin D in maternal and cord blood have been associated with neonatal sepsis. This study assessed the association of vitamin D metabolites (25(OH)D, 3-epi-25(OH)D , and 24,25(OH) D ) levels in maternal and cord blood with newborn sepsis evaluation in Nigerian mother-infant dyads. Maternal and cord blood from 534 mothers and 536 newborns were processed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Spearman correlation was used to compare continuous variables, Mann-Whitney for dichotomous variables, and Kruskal-Wallis for two or more groups. High cord percent 3-epi-25(OH)D levels were positively associated with newborn evaluation for sepsis ( = 0.036), while maternal and cord 25(OH)D and 24,25(OH) D levels were not. Being employed was positively associated with maternal and newborn 3-epi-25(OH)D concentrations ( = 0.007 and = 0.005, respectively). The maternal 3-epi-25(OH)D and percent 3-epi-25(OH)D were positively associated with vaginal delivery ( = 0.013 and = 0.012, respectively). Having a weight-for-age Z-score ≤ -2 was positively associated with newborn percent 3-epi-25(OH)D levels ( = 0.004), while a weight-for-length Z-score ≤ -3 was positively associated with maternal and newborn percent 3-epi-25(OH)D levels ( = 0.044 and = 0.022, respectively). Our study highlights the need to further investigate the biological role of 3-epi-25(OH)D and its clinical significance in fetal growth and newborn outcome.