Adequate vitamin intake during pregnancy is very important not only for the mother but also, and, to a greater extent, the health of her growing baby. New research has reported that inadequate vitamin D intake during pregnancy increases the risk of multiple sclerosis in the offspring. The findings were published online on March 7 in The Journal JAMA Neurology by a team of International Researchers.
The authors of the study point out that insufficient vitamin D levels have been identified as a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis, a progressive, disease-free disease of the central nervous system. Whether adequate vitamin D levels for mothers during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of MS in the fetus is unclear; therefore, they have conducted a study to clarify this risk.
In the study, researchers obtained data from The Finnish Maternity Cohort conducted in May 2011. They identified 193 people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on December 31, 2009, whose mothers were in the Finnish Maternity Cohort and had a serum sample available from pregnancy and the affected child. They compared 176 cases with 326 controls born in Finland, maternal sample collection date, maternal birth date, and child’s date of birth.
Vitamin D levels of mothers born using a chemiluminescence test. Of the 193 offspring in the study, 163 were female. Of the 331 controls in the study, 218 were women. Most (70%) serum samples are collected during the first trimester (first three months) of pregnancy. Maternal vitamin D levels were inadequate for vitamin D levels; however, in addition to maternal control there were cases (15.02 ng / mL vs. 13.86 ng / mL. Researchers found that vitamin D deficiency in mothers (vitamin D levels below 12.02 ng / mL) during early pregnancy was associated with approximately 2 -the frequency of risk. of multiple sclerosis in the offspring (90% of increased risk) compared to women who did not have vitamin D levels. There was no statistically significant relationship between the risk of multiple sclerosis and increased serum vitamin D levels.
The authors conclude that maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may increase the risk of multiple sclerosis in the fetus.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists notes that in 2010, the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies indicated that adequate vitamin D intake during pregnancy and lactation was up to 600 countries per day, and most prenatal vitamins usually contained 400 units of global vitamin D per tablet. When vitamin D deficiency is detected during pregnancy, most experts agree that 1,000-2,000 international units on vitamin D day are safe. The types of high doses used for the treatment of vitamin D deficiency have not been studied during pregnancy. In view of the above, it would be wise for a pregnant woman to take 1,000 units of vitamin D daily.
The authors contacted: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Classification of Clinical Neurosciences, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Finland; National Center for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland; and the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
