Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation in Pregnancy for Prevention of Preeclampsia

Aim: The role of vitamin D has been studied in growth and reproduction, carcinomas, psoriasis etc. Even in preeclampsia aberration in calcium homeostasis was found to be associated with decreased calcitriol levels. In present study, we investigated the role of vitamin D supplementation in regulation of calcium homeostasis and prevention of preeclampsia. Methods: The study comprised of 200 primigravidae, out of which 100 were managed with routine antenatal protocol (control group) while other 100 women received supplemental vitamin D (60,000 IU, every fortnight) along with routine antenatal protocol (study group) from 28±1 week till 36±1 week of gestation. Serum and urinary parameters of calcium homeostasis were estimated in both the groups and “Odds Ratio” was calculated to know the relative risk of preeclampsia. Results: The incidence of preeclampsia was found to be 10% in Control group and 4% in the Study group. The Odds Ratio for Preeclampsia was found to be 0.375 (95% confidence interval 0.114-1.24) in Study group. Significant increase in serum and urinary calcium level (p<0.001) and decrease in serum phosphorus level (p<0.01) was observed in study group at 36 week. The urinary calcium/creatinine ratio was found to be significantly increased in study group (p<0.001) and a negative correlation was observed between blood pressure and urinary calcium/creatinine ratio in study group at 36 week. Conclusion: It is suggested that vitamin D supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy, is efficacious in reducing the risk of preeclampsia by increasing therapeutic effectiveness of calcium supplementation in pregnant women.