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Maternal nutrition, infants and children

Maternal early-pregnancy vitamin D status in relation to linear growth at the age of 5–6 years: results of the ABCD cohort

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 972–977 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives:

Low vitamin D status during pregnancy may be associated with infant skeletal growth. However, evidence on the longer-term effect is limited. This study aims to assess the association between maternal vitamin D status in early pregnancy and markers of linear growth (height, leg length and relative leg length) of the child at age 5–6 years.

Subjects/methods:

A subsample of data from the Amsterdam Born Children and Development (ABCD) study was used. Ethnic Dutch pregnant women and their children (n=1208) were included. Maternal serum vitamin D level was determined at first antenatal visit (median 13 weeks, interquartile range: 12–14). We investigated the association of maternal vitamin D, corrected for season, with height, leg length and relative leg length at age 5–6 years.

Results:

Linear regression analyses showed no significant association between maternal vitamin D levels (nmol/l) and height (cm) (B=−0.006; P=0.205), leg length (cm) (B=−0.002, P=0.540) or relative leg length (%) (B=0.001; P=0.579). Adjustment for potential confounders (parental heights, maternal educational level, alcohol use during pregnancy, child sex, child age at measurement and child screen time) did not change these results.

Conclusions:

Maternal vitamin D level was not associated with early linear growth in children. Other factors, such as parental height, appear to be more important.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the participating hospitals, obstetric clinics and general practitioners for their assistance in implementing the ABCD study and thank all of the women who participated, for their cooperation. We like to thank Dr Wim Busschers, statistician at the AMC Department of Public Health, for his help with the statistical figures. The ABCD study was supported, in part, by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) in the Hague, the Public Health Service and Municipal Council of Amsterdam, and the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment co-financed the vitamin D analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Documentation and Health Promotion, Public Health Service Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M van Eijsden

  2. Department of Health Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M van Eijsden & I Brouwer

  3. Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M B Snijder & T G M Vrijkotte

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  1. M van Eijsden
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Correspondence to M van Eijsden.

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van Eijsden, M., Snijder, M., Brouwer, I. et al. Maternal early-pregnancy vitamin D status in relation to linear growth at the age of 5–6 years: results of the ABCD cohort. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 972–977 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.106

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