title: Vitamin D status of newborns in New Zealand.
abstract: Recognition of the important non-skeletal health effects of vitamin D has focused attention on the vitamin D status of individuals across the lifespan. To examine the vitamin D status of newborns, we measured serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in the cord blood of 929 apparently healthy newborns in a population-based study in New Zealand, a country at 41 °S latitude, with strong anti-skin cancer (sun avoidance) campaigns and without vitamin D food fortification. Randomly selected midwives in two regions recruited children. The median cord blood level of 25(OH)D was 44 nmol/l (interquartile range, 29-78 nmol/l). Overall, 19 % of newborns had 25(OH)D levels < 25 nmol/l and 57 % had levels < 50 nmol/l; only 27 % had levels of 75 nmol/l or higher, which are levels associated with optimal health in older children and adults. A multivariable ordinal logistic regression model showed that the strongest determinants of low vitamin D status were winter month of birth and non-European ethnicity. Other determinants of low cord blood 25(OH)D included longer gestational age, younger maternal age and a parental history of asthma. In summary, low levels of vitamin D are common among apparently healthy New Zealand newborns, and are independently associated with several easily identified factors. Although the optimal timing and dosage of vitamin D supplementation require further study, our findings may assist future efforts to correct low levels of 25(OH)D among New Zealand mothers and their newborn children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 326 Cambridge Street, Suite 410, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ccamargo@partners.org
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: Tristram
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ingham
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wickens
authors.forename: Ravi I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Thadhani
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Silvers
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Epton
authors.forename: G Ian
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Town
authors.forename: Janice A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Espinola
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crane
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008423:Maternal Age; D008880:Midwifery; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010290:Parents; D012621:Seasons; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D