title: Vitamin D deficiency and dyslipidemia in early pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vitamin D deficiency is a common nutritional issue and dietary supplementation in the general population, including pregnant women, is generally advised. Appropriately high levels of vitamin D are expected to play a role in containing the glycemic and atherogenic profiles observed in pregnancy. However, the relation between vitamin D status and the lipid metabolic profile in Saudi women, who are known to suffer from chronic vitamin D deficiency and high incidence of obesity and type II DM, during the course of pregnancy is not known.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we analyzed the relation between serum vitamin D level and various serum metabolic markers among Saudi women (n = 515) in their first trimester of pregnancy (11.2 ± 3.4 weeks). Coefficients of Pearson correlation and Spearman rank correlation were calculated for Gaussian and non-Gaussian variables, respectively. Serum vitamin D status was defined as (in nmol/L): deficient (<25), insufficient (25-50); sufficient (50-75) and desirable (>75).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated that vitamin D status was sufficient in only 3.5% of the study participants and insufficient and deficient in 26.2% and 68.0% of participants, respectively. Serum vitamin D values in the overall study population correlated positively with serum levels of total cholesterol (R = 0.172; p < 0.01), triglycerides (R = 0.184; p < 0.01) and corrected calcium (R = 0.141; p < 0.05). In the subgroup of vitamin D deficient subjects (n = 350), log serum vitamin D values correlated with serum triglycerides (R = 0.23; p = 0.002) and cholesterol (R = 0.26; p = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The positive correlations between serum vitamin D and the atherogenic factors such as total cholesterol and triglycerides indicate a pro-atherogenic metabolic status in vitamin D deficient expectant mothers. This may represent an adaptation to the high metabolic demands of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, PO Box 10219, Riyadh, 11433, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. aalajl@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Ajlan
authors.affiliation: Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box, 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ksounder@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Soundararajan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnaswamy
authors.affiliation: Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box, 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. msa85@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Majed S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Alokail
authors.affiliation: Specialized Diabetes and Endocrine Center, King Fahad Medical City, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 11525, Saudi Arabia. najij@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Naji J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Aljohani
authors.affiliation: Maternal-Fetal Medicine Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, 59406, Saudi Arabia. aalserehi@kfmc.med.sa.
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Serehi
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Care Center, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. eman_shesha@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sheshah
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. alshingetti@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Naemah M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Alshingetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Endocrinology Division, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, 12372, Saudi Arabia. monafoudaneel@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fouda
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, 12372, Saudi Arabia. iqbalzmt@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Iqbal Z
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Turkistani
authors.affiliation: Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box, 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. aldaghri2011@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nasser M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Al-Daghri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D014807:Vitamin D; D002784:Cholesterol; D002118:Calcium