Vitamin D Deficiency During Early Pregnancy Linked with Higher Risk of MS in Offspring

29 Mar 2016 --- Researchers have found that maternal vitamin D deficiency during early pregnancy may be associated with nearly twice the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in offspring.

The results were found in the new, prospective, nested case-control study of the Finnish Maternity Cohort, which is published in JAMA Neurology.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the Washington D.C.-based trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry, says the study results build on previous research showing higher vitamin D blood levels are associated with a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).

However, support for a link between in utero vitamin D exposure and MS risk has been less well-established, noted researchers.

“The Finnish Maternity Cohort study is an important and promising investigation, and we agree with the authors that more research is needed to learn more definitively how vitamin D supplementation may help prevent the devastation of our children developing multiple sclerosis later in life,” says Andrea Wong, PhD, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN.

Researchers identified 193 individuals with a diagnosis of MS in the Finnish Maternity Cohort, all diagnosed before December 31, 2009. They then matched MS cases with 331 control cases based on region of birth in Finland, date of mother’s birth, date of child’s birth, and date of maternal serum sample collection. Researchers measured maternal levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) with a chemiluminescence assay.

They discovered that maternal vitamin D deficiency during early pregnancy, defined as 25(OH)D levels below 12.02 ng/mL, was associated with “a nearly two-fold increased risk of MS in the offspring compared with women who did not have deficient 25(OH)D levels.”

“It’s common sense that raising vitamin D levels might make a difference, and as a woman, I believe that if there’s any chance that a woman could reduce the risk of her unborn child’s developing MS later in life, that’s something a mother-to-be would strongly consider — especially if it’s doing something as simple as adding a vitamin D supplement daily,” says Wong.