TY - JOUR

T1 - Breastfeeding woman are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency than non-breastfeeding women - insights from the German VitaMinFemin study

AU - Gellert, Sandra

AU - Ströhle, A.

AU - Hahn, A

N1 - Funding information: The study was supported by Rottapharm Madaus GmbH (Cologne, Germany), now part of Meda AB (Bad Homburg, Germany). Rottapharm Madaus GmbH (Cologne, Germany) and Meda AB (Bad Homburg, Germany) had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. The authors are solely responsible for the design and implementation of the study and collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data, as well as preparation of the manuscript. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access fund of Leibniz Universität Hannover.

PY - 2017/4/19

Y1 - 2017/4/19

N2 - Background: Despite increased awareness of the adverse health effects of vitamin D deficiency, only a few studies have evaluated the vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OHD)]) of breastfeeding women and up to now, no information exits for German breastfeeding women. Therefore, the aim of study was to determine the vitamin D status of breastfeeding women compared to non-pregnant and non-breastfeeding (NPNB) women. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 124 breastfeeding women and 124 age and season matched NPNB women from the German "Vitamin and mineral status among German women" study. The study participants were recruited from April 2013 to March 2015 and did not take vitamin D supplements. Serum 25(OH)D was analyzed by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Results: Vitamin D deficiency (<25.0 nmol/L) was prevalent in 26.6% of the breastfeeding women. The majority of women (49.2%) showed 25(OH)D concentration between 25.0 and 49.9 nmol/L. In multiple binary logistic regression analysis, breastfeeding women had a 4.0-fold higher odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8, 8.7) for vitamin D deficiency than NPNB women. For breastfeeding women, the risk of vitamin D deficiency was higher in the winter and spring months (OR: 2.6, 95% CI 1.1, 6.3) and increased with lower longitude per one unit (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6, 0.9). Conclusion: Breastfeeding women in Germany had a higher risk of deficient vitamin D levels than NPNB women. In further studies, the optimal vitamin D status for breastfeeding women should be investigated and also the required vitamin D doses to ensure this vitamin D status. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Register (identification number: DRKS00004789 ).

AB - Background: Despite increased awareness of the adverse health effects of vitamin D deficiency, only a few studies have evaluated the vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OHD)]) of breastfeeding women and up to now, no information exits for German breastfeeding women. Therefore, the aim of study was to determine the vitamin D status of breastfeeding women compared to non-pregnant and non-breastfeeding (NPNB) women. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 124 breastfeeding women and 124 age and season matched NPNB women from the German "Vitamin and mineral status among German women" study. The study participants were recruited from April 2013 to March 2015 and did not take vitamin D supplements. Serum 25(OH)D was analyzed by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Results: Vitamin D deficiency (<25.0 nmol/L) was prevalent in 26.6% of the breastfeeding women. The majority of women (49.2%) showed 25(OH)D concentration between 25.0 and 49.9 nmol/L. In multiple binary logistic regression analysis, breastfeeding women had a 4.0-fold higher odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8, 8.7) for vitamin D deficiency than NPNB women. For breastfeeding women, the risk of vitamin D deficiency was higher in the winter and spring months (OR: 2.6, 95% CI 1.1, 6.3) and increased with lower longitude per one unit (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6, 0.9). Conclusion: Breastfeeding women in Germany had a higher risk of deficient vitamin D levels than NPNB women. In further studies, the optimal vitamin D status for breastfeeding women should be investigated and also the required vitamin D doses to ensure this vitamin D status. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Register (identification number: DRKS00004789 ).

KW - 25(OH)D

KW - Breastfeeding period

KW - Germany

KW - Vitamin D

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85018520046&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1186/s13006-017-0105-1

DO - 10.1186/s13006-017-0105-1

M3 - Article

VL - 12

JO - International Breastfeeding Journal

JF - International Breastfeeding Journal

SN - 1746-4358

IS - 1

M1 - 19

ER -