Chen Y, et al. – This meta–analysis was performed to evaluate the association between maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and small for gestational age (SGA). Findings revealed that vitamin D deficiency was associated with an increased risk of SGA.

Methods

• The authors explored relevant data from PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and the Elsevier ScienceDirect library.
• To evaluate the correlation in a random effects model, pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used.

Results

• This meta–analysis included 13 cohort studies with a sample of 28 285 individuals from seven countries.
• The pooled overall OR for babies born SGA was 1.588 (95% CI 1.138 to 2.216; p<0.01) for women with vitamin D deficiency.
• Findings revealed that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy varied from 13.2% to 77.3%.
• Subgroup analyses identified no significant differences in the association between vitamin D deficiency and SGA based on study quality, gestational week during which blood sampling was performed, cut–off vitamin D levels, sample size, adjustment for critical confounders and method for measuring vitamin D.