title: 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D deficiency is associated with preterm birth in African American and Caucasian women.
abstract: Vitamin (vit) D deficiency and preterm birth (PTB) are more prevalent among African American (AA) women compared to caucasian (Cau) women. Because vit D is important in regulating cell-mediated immune responses, vit D insufficiency or deficiency during pregnancy may enhance inflammation in pregnant women and increase the risk of PTB. In this study, circulatory levels of 25-hydroxy (OH) and 1,25-dihydroxy (OH)2 vit D were measured using chemiluminescence and radioimmunoassay techniques, respectively, in AA (n = 108) and Cau (n = 84) women who delivered at term and preterm. The results from this study suggest that the serum levels of the 25-(OH) vit D concentrations tend to decrease (P = .06) in the Cau women who delivered at preterm compared to those delivering at term. However, the 25-(OH) vit D levels in Cau and AA between term and preterm deliveries were not significantly different. The serum levels of 1,25-(OH)2 vit D were found to be significantly lower in AA women compared to Cau women (P < .02) at term, and in the Cau (P < .01) and AA (P < .04) women delivering at preterm compared to those delivering at term. One-way analysis of variance demonstrated that 1,25-(OH)2 vit D levels were significantly lower in participants delivering at preterm (<34 weeks and between 34 and 37 weeks) compared to those delivering at term (>37 weeks).These results suggest that low levels of serum 1,25-(OH)2 vit D are associated with PTB, and vit D can potentially be used as a novel diagnostic marker in the detection of PTB.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Women's Health Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Chandrasekhar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thota
authors.forename: Ramkumar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menon
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fortunato
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brou
authors.forename: Jae-Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Hendy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014807:Vitamin D; C097949:1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
keywords: 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D; 25-(OH) vitamin D; African Americans; Caucasians; preterm birth; serum levels