TUESDAY, March 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency in early pregnancy is associated with increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in offspring, according to a study published online March 7 in JAMA Neurology.
Kassandra L. Munger, Sc.D., from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues conducted a prospective, nested case-control study involving 193 individuals with a diagnosis of MS whose mothers are in the Finnish Maternity Cohort. One hundred seventy-six cases were matched with 326 controls to examine the correlation between serum 25(OH)D in early pregnancy and the risk of MS.
The researchers found that the mean maternal vitamin D levels were in the range of vitamin D insufficiency, and were higher in maternal controls versus cases (15.02 versus 13.86 ng/mL). The risk of MS in offspring was increased nearly two-fold with maternal vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy compared to women without vitamin D deficiency (relative risk, 1.90; P = 0.006). The risk of MS was not significantly associated with increasing serum 25(OH)D levels (P = 0.12).
"Correcting maternal vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy may have a beneficial effect on risk of MS in the offspring," the authors write.
Two authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
Full Text
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
