Merewood A, Mehta SD, Chen TC, et al. Association between vitamin D deficiency and primary caesarean section. J Clinical Endocrinol Metab 2008; DOI: 10.1210/jc.2008-1217.
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jc.2008-1217v1
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/rapidpdf/jc.2008-1217v1.pdf
Key words: vitamin D • cesarean section • 25-hydroxyvitamin D • pregnancy • vitamin D deficiency
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This version published online on December 23, 2008
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2008-1217
Submitted on June 5, 2008
Accepted on December 12, 2008
Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Primary Cesarean Section
Anne Merewood MPH, IBCLC, Supriya D. Mehta PhD, MHS, Tai C. Chen PhD, Howard Bauchner MD, and Michael F. Holick PhD, MD*
Boston University School of Medicine, Division of General Pediatrics, 88 E Newton St., Vose 3, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02118; University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, 958 SPHPI, M/C 923, 1603 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612; Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Rm M-1022, 715 Albany St., Boston MA 02118; Boston Medical Center, 88 E Newton St., Vose 3, Boston, MA, 02118; Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, 715 Albany St, Building M-1013, Boston, MA 02118
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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Background: At the turn of the 20th century, women commonly died in childbirth due to "rachitic pelvis". Although rickets virtually disappeared with the discovery of the hormone "vitamin" D, recent reports suggest vitamin D deficiency is widespread in industrialized nations. Poor muscular performance is an established symptom of vitamin D deficiency. The current US cesarean birth rate is at an all-time high of 30.2%. We analyzed the relationship between maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status, and prevalence of primary cesarean section.
Methods: Between 2005 and 2007, we measured maternal and infant serum 25(OH)D at birth, and abstracted demographic and medical data from the maternal medical record, at an urban teaching hospital in Boston, USA, with 2,500 births per year. We enrolled 253 women, of whom 43 (17%) had a primary cesarean.
Results: There was an inverse association with having a cesarean section and serum 25(OH)D levels. We found that 28% of women with serum 25(OH)D
Interpretation: Vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased odds of primary cesarean section.
Key words: vitamin D • cesarean section • 25-hydroxyvitamin D • pregnancy • vitamin D deficiency
Copyright © 2008 by The Endocrine Society