Correlation Between Low Vitamin D Levels and Pre-eclampsia Onset in Late Pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: To explore the correlation between low vitamin D levels and the onset of pre-eclampsia in women presenting during third trimester of pregnancy.

Methodology: This study was conducted at department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lady Willingdon Hospital (LWH), Lahore from June 2021 to 31 December 2021. All the women aged 18 years or older, gestational age more than 28 weeks, diagnosed with pre-eclampsia as per established clinical criteria were included. Equal numbers of normotensive women were selected as controls. A 5ml blood sample was collected from each participant to evaluate the vitamin D level. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum levels below 20 ng/mL All the information regarding data was collected using study proforma and SPSS version 26 was used for the data analysis.

Results: The average age for the case group was 27.22 ± 3.18 years, and for the control group, it was 26.31 ± 4.17 years. Similarly, the mean gestational age for the case group was 32.38 ± 3.5 weeks, and for the control group, it was 33.29 ± 2.7 weeks, with a significant p-value > 0.05. In the case group, 47 individuals (28.5%) were found to have hypovitaminosis D, while in the control group, 25 individuals (15.2%) were identified with the condition. The odds ratio (OR) 2.23 (95% CI: 1.29-3.84), and p-value of 0.003 suggests a statistically significant association of hypovitaminosis D with preeclampsia.

Conclusion: There was observed to be a significant association between low levels of vitamin D and the development of pre-eclampsia in the later stages of pregnancy. Women with pre-eclampsia are more likely to have a deficiency in vitamin D compared to women with normal blood pressure.