Vitamin D status is inversely associated with anemia and serum erythropoietin during pregnancy

Findings the STUDY by Thomas C, Guillet R, Queenan R, Cooper E, Kent T, Pressman E, Vermeylen F, Roberson M, O'Brien K; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Oct 2015) 

DESIGN The trial was a prospective longitudinal study of 158 pregnant adolescents (aged ≤18 y). Maternal circulating biomarkers of vitamin D and iron were determined at midgestation (∼25 wk) and delivery (∼40 wk). Linear regression was used to assess associations between vitamin D and iron status indicators. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to generate the OR of anemia as a function of vitamin D status. A mediation analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect relations between vitamin D status, hemoglobin, and erythropoietin in maternal serum.

BACKGROUND Vitamin D and iron deficiencies frequently co-exist. It is now appreciated that mechanistic interactions between iron and vitamin D metabolism may underlie these associations.
OBJECTIVE We examined interrelations between iron and vitamin D status and their regulatory hormones in pregnant adolescents, who are a group at risk of both suboptimal vitamin D and suboptimal iron status.
RESULTS Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was positively associated with maternal hemoglobin at both midgestation and at delivery (P<0 .01="" 25="" 8="" a="" adjustment="" adolescents="" after="" age="" an="" and="" anemia="" associated="" at="" be="" between="" both="" by="" concentrations="" could="" delivery="" direct="" enrollment="" erythropoietin.="" erythropoietin="" explained="" for="" greater="" hemoglobin="" in="" indirect="" inversely="" maternal="" mediated="" midgestation="" nmol="" observed="" odds="" of="" p="" race="" relation="" significant="" than="" that="" the="" those="" times="" was="" with=""> CONCLUSIONS In this group of pregnant adolescents, suboptimal vitamin D status was associated with increased risk of iron insufficiency and vice versa. These findings emphasize the need for screening for multiple nutrient deficiencies during pregnancy and greater attention to overlapping metabolic pathways when selecting prenatal supplementation regimens.

Source: Am J Clin Nutr