title: Umbilical Cord Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Relation to Birthweight, Head Circumference and Infant Length at Age 14 Days.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Insufficient supply of vitamin D during early development may negatively affect offspring growth.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the association between umbilical cord (UC) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and infant size in a study of two Faroese birth cohorts of 1038 singleton infants. In the third trimester, the pregnant women completed questionnaires, and clinical examination included birthweight, head circumference, and infant length at age 14 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-three percent of the newborn population had UC 25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L as determined by LC-MS/MS. Using multiple linear regression models with adjustment for pre-pregnancy BMI, sex, parity, gestational age, or infant age at examination, season of birth, smoking, gestational diabetes, examiner, and cohort identity, we found no relationship between birthweight or head circumference and UC 25(OH)D. However, infants with vitamin D status <12 nmol/L had a 0.49 (95% confidence interval 0.05, 0.93) cm lower length than infants with vitamin D status >50 nmol/L in models further adjusted for birthweight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that umbilical cord serum 25(OH)D concentrations are positively associated with infant length but not with birthweight and head circumference. Although the paediatric relevance of the observed association is unclear, the possible long-term consequences of late-pregnancy hypovitaminosis D deserve attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalgård
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
authors.forename: Maria Skaalum
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Steuerwald
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark.|Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
authors.forename: Pál
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weihe
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark.|Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grandjean
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D047109:Fetal Development; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D
keywords: birthweight; infant length; prenatal vitamin D exposure; umbilical cord serum 25(OH)D