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Maternal and paediatric nutrition

Association between vitamin D status during pregnancy and total gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention: a prospective cohort

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 126–134 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the association between vitamin D status during pregnancy and total gestational weight gain (GWG), GWG rates and postpartum weight retention.

Methods

Prospective cohort of 163 women from Rio de Janeiro was followed at 5th–13th (baseline), 20th–26th, 30th–36th gestational weeks and at 30–62 days postpartum. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was evaluated during each trimester and was categorized as adequate (≥50 nmol/L) or inadequate (<50 nmol/L). GWG (kg) was calculated as the difference between the weight measured at baseline and 36th–42th gestational weeks. GWG rates (kg/week) were calculated between each visit. Postpartum weight retention (kg) was analysed as the difference between weights measured at 30–62 days postpartum and 5th–13th gestational weeks. Statistical analyses were performed using linear regression models that included interaction terms between vitamin D status and first trimester body mass index (BMI) (<25/≥25 kg/m2). Confounders were selected based on a directed acyclic graph.

Results

The prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy was 16.6%, 9.9% and 10.6% in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. Overweight women with vitamin D inadequacy in the first (β = 3.70; 95% CI 0.09; 7.31, p-value = 0.045) and third trimester (β = 4.59, 95% CI 0.07; 9.10, p-value = 0.047) presented higher increases in total GWG than did women with vitamin D adequacy. This association was also observed between first trimester vitamin D status and GWG rates between visits 1 and 2 (β = 0.17; 95% CI 0.13; 0.36, p-value = 0.07).

Conclusions

There was an interaction effect of first trimester BMI (≥25 kg/m2) on the association between first and third trimester vitamin D status and GWG.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all participants of the cohort study, to the Municipal Health Centre Heitor Beltrão for giving us the space and allow the completion of data collection.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from National Council for Scientific and Technological Development CNPq (grant number: 471196/2010-0) and Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of Rio de Janeiro State (FAPERJ, grant number: E-26/110.681/2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutritional Epidemiology Observatory, Department of Social and Applied Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition Josué de Castro, Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Amanda C. Cunha Figueiredo, Thaís Rangel Bousquet Carrilho, Mônica Araujo Batalha, Dayana R. Farias, Erica Guimarães Barros & Gilberto Kac

  2. Graduate Program in Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition Josué de Castro, Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Dayana R. Farias & Gilberto Kac

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  1. Amanda C. Cunha Figueiredo
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Contributions

The authors’ contributions are as follows: GK designed the research; DRF conducted the research; ACCF analysed the data; ACCF wrote the paper with input from TPR, MAB, DRF and EGB; GK reviewed the manuscript; ACCF and GK had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gilberto Kac.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The Research Ethics Committees of the Municipal Secretariat of Health and Civil Defense of the State of Rio de Janeiro approved this study (Protocol number: 0012.0.249.000-09). Written consent from all participants was freely obtained, after all necessary clarifications were provided in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Figueiredo, A.C.C., Carrilho, T.R.B., Batalha, M.A. et al. Association between vitamin D status during pregnancy and total gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention: a prospective cohort. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 126–134 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0465-2

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