An observational study reveals that neonatal vitamin D is primarily determined by maternal contributions: Implications of a new assay on the roles of vitamin D forms

Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency has been associated with a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from neurological disorders to chronic inflammatory conditions [1]. The resurgence of rickets in some Western countries highlights the potential risks of not gaining sufficient vitamin D through diet, supplementation or exposure to sunlight [2,3]. Vitamin D deficiency is frequently defined as serum concentrations less than 20 ng/mL with concentrations between 21-29 ng/mL treated as insufficiency and greater than 30 ng/mL as sufficient [4-7]. Recent studies attest to widespread insufficiency of vitamin D in many Western nations, namely the UK, USA and other European countries, including Greece [5,6,8]. Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has been associated with maternal morbidity, including gestational diabetes [9] and an increased rate of caesarean section [10]. Likewise, for the neonate, there is a putative association with being small-for-gestational age (SGA) [11]. Finally, as far as children are concerned, impaired neurocognitive development [12] and skeletal problems, such as reduced bone mineral content [13] have been reported.