Effect of Maternal Vitamin D status in Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring: A Case Control Study

Abstract

Vitamin D is not only a lipid-soluble vitamin, but also a steroid hormone that can be synthesized endogenously. It has an important role in calcium (Ca)-phosphorus (P) homeostasis and its deficiency causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Vitamin D deficiency may also result in impairment of immune function, predisposition to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatic disease, muscle weakness, chronic pain and neuropsychiatric dysfunction. The lack of vitamin D during pregnancy is the most important risk factor for infantile rickets and may also result in poor fetal growth and neonatal development. In addition, its deficiency in pregnant women may predispose to gestational diabetes mellitus and preeclampsia. Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is identified as a public health problem in many countries, and pregnant women have been identified as a high-risk group, among whom the prevalence of VDD ranges between 20 and 40% .While it is acknowledged that vitamin D supplementation is effective in preventing the VDD, many children are born with this deficiency, raising questions as to how and why VDD affects the pregnancy, the fetus and the newborn's health. The increase in the number of studies on this subject shows conflicting results on the association between 25(OH)D levels in pregnancy and adverse effects on maternal and fetal health, both skeletal and non-skeletal (autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and certain types