serum vitamin d deficiency in nicu hospitalized neonates and its association with neonatal outcomes

Objective: vitamin d deficiency is a major health problem in all age groups. in the present study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in neonates hospitalized in an intensive care unit (nicu) and its association with clinical neonatal outcomes. materials and methods: a prospective cross-sectional study was carried out on all neonates hospitalized in the nicu of children's medical center over a period of one year (january 2013; december 2018). immediately on admission, a serum sample for vitamin d measurement was obtained with another routine blood sampling. demographic and clinical data including sex, gestational age, the season of birth, serum levels of vitamin d and calcium, the causes of hospitalization, age at admission and neonatal outcomes including length of hospital stay and mortality during hospitalization were assessed. results: one hundred neonates entered the study. vitamin d deficiency and insufficiency were present in 95% of neonates. there was a significant association between vitamin d status and birth during winter (p=0.014); hypocalcemia (p=0.025) and older age at nicu admission. the mean value of vitamin d in term neonates was significantly lower than in preterm neonates (p=0.031). there were no correlations between length of hospital stay and neonatal mortality rate with vitamin d status (p=0.876). conclusion: vitamin d deficiency and insufficiency were highly prevalent among nicu patients. maternal vitamin d supplementation during pregnancy may prevent or reduce the risk of low levels of vitamin d in neonates.