Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women of ethnic minority: a potential contributor to preeclampsia

Objective:we investigated risk for comorbidities and preeclampsia at low vitamin d levels in ethnic minorities.study design:umbilical cord vitamin d (25(oh)d) concentration was determined in urban minorities: 80.9% african american and 17% hispanic mothers-baby pairs. to identify the correlation between vitamin d levels and high-risk comorbidities which result in preeclampsia, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.result:below the institute of medicine threshold of 25(oh)d for pregnant women (25 ng ml−1), obesity (p=0.055) and pregestational diabetes (odds ratio (or)=2.056) were observed. the study median was 16 ng ml−1 (<25th percentile), at which gestational hypertension (p=0.042), chronic hypertension (or=4.842) and pregestational diabetes (or=3.45) became relevant. the risk for preeclampsia increased 12-fold with gestational hypertension (p=0.003) and 14-fold with combined chronic and gestational hypertension (p=0.001).conclusion:pregnant women of ethnic minority had lower median vitamin d levels which may contribute to a potential risk for preeclampsia.