Role of Maternal Vitamin D 3 Levels in Shaping Adolescent Vascular Health: Evidence From a Spanish Population‐Based Birth Cohort
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Low gestational vitamin D levels may increase offspring risk of cardiovascular disease from an early age. Studies investigating the impact on offspring macrovascular function have been inconsistent. Few included pulse wave velocity as an arterial stiffness indicator, and none included measures of microvascularization as an early marker of cardiovascular health. This study explored the association between gestational vitamin D levels and macro‐ and microvascular health across early adolescence. Methods and Results We analyzed data from 430 mother–child pairs from a Spanish birth cohort. 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 3 (vitamin D 3 ) levels were measured in serum at 13 weeks of pregnancy. At 11 and 15 years we assessed macrovascular parameters, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and pulse wave velocity (m/s), and microvascular parameters (central retinal artery/vein equivalent (μm)). We used continuous (in ng/mL) and categorical (deficient <20 ng/mL versus adequate >20 ng/mL) deseasonalized 25(OH)D 3 levels as exposure. Mixed effect and linear regression models were conducted. During their pregnancies, nearly 23% of the mothers had deficient vitamin D 3 levels. We did not find statistically significant associations between pregnancy vitamin D 3 levels and macro‐ and microvascular function markers across adolescence. However, subjects exposed to deficient vitamin D 3 levels showed a nonstatistically significant decrease in pulse wave velocity ( β =−0.09 [95% CI, −0.19 to 0.01]) compared with those exposed to adequate levels. There was no evidence of a sex interaction. Conclusions Our findings show little evidence to support associations between low vitamin D levels during pregnancy and macro‐ or microvascular health parameters through early adolescence.
Institutions: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Inserm, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail, Université de Rennes, Hasselt University, Antwerp University Hospital, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg
Language: English
Topic: Vitamin D Research Studies
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,810
Award: G1150096566
OpenAlex ID: W4407975791