title: A comparison of vitamin D levels in two antenatal populations in regional Western Australia--'Tjindoo Ba Thonee Thurra': sunshine for the pregnant belly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a known increased risk of vitamin D deficiency in darker skinned people living in in temperate latitudes, but there is limited literature specifically on Australian Aboriginal women and their vitamin D status in pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper reports the findings of a prospective cohort study comparing vitamin D levels in a group of pregnant Aboriginal women with a group of pregnant non-Aboriginal women living in the same town in Western Australia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aboriginal patients from the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) had lower serum vitamin D levels (mean 46.7, SD 21.7 nmol/L), compared with their  non-Aboriginal women (mean 65.4, SD 18.4 nmol/L, P CONCLUSION: We believe this is the first study to compare vitamin D levels in pregnant Aboriginal women with non-Aboriginal women living in the same community at temperate latitude.
authors.affiliation: FRACGP FACRRM DRANZCOG, General Practitioner, Rural Clinical School of Western Australia; South West Aboriginal Medical Service Bunbury, WA.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Willix
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Walshe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D