title: Maternal antenatal vitamin D status and offspring muscle development: findings from the Southampton Women's Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status in pregnancy has been associated with offspring bone development and adiposity. Vitamin D has also been implicated in postnatal muscle function, but little is known about a role for antenatal 25(OH)D exposure in programming muscle development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the associations between maternal plasma 25(OH)D status at 34 weeks of gestation and offspring lean mass and muscle strength at 4 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a prospective UK population-based mother-offspring cohort: the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Initially, 12,583 nonpregnant women were recruited into the SWS, of whom 3159 had singleton pregnancies; 678 mother-child pairs were included in this analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  At 4 years of age, offspring assessments included hand grip strength and whole-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, yielding lean mass and percent lean mass. Physical activity was assessed by 7-day accelerometry in a subset of children (n=326).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The maternal serum 25(OH)D concentration in pregnancy was positively associated with offspring height-adjusted hand grip strength (β=0.10 SD/SD, P=.013), which persisted after adjustment for maternal confounding factors, duration of breastfeeding, and child's physical activity at 4 years (β=0.13 SD/SD, P=.014). Maternal 25(OH)D was also positively associated with offspring percent lean mass (β=0.11 SD/SD, P=.006), but not total lean mass (β=0.06 SD/SD, P=.15). However, this association did not persist after adjustment for confounding factors (β=0.09 SD/SD, P=.11).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This observational study suggests that intrauterine exposure to 25(OH)D during late pregnancy might influence offspring muscle development through an effect primarily on muscle strength rather than on muscle mass.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (N.C.H., R.J.M., A.A.S., G.N., S.M.R., K.M.G., H.M.I., C.C.), University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (N.C.H., K.M.G., C.C.), University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton National Health Service Foundation Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom; Paediatric Endocrinology (R.J.M., J.H.D.), University Hospital Southampton National Health Service Foundation Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom; and National Institute for Health Research Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit (M.K.J., C.C.), University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopedic Centre, Headington, Oxford OX3 7HE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicholas C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Avan Aihie
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sayer
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ntani
authors.forename: Justin H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: M Kassim
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Javaid
authors.forename: Sian M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.forename: Hazel M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Inskip
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009035:Mothers; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D