Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] deficiency has a negative influence on the health of the mother and the developing fetus. The aim of this study was to assess serum 25(OH)D status and its relationship to virologic and biochemical parameters in pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

METHODOLOGY: Serum 25(OH)D levels among 142 pregnant women with chronic HBV infection and 251 healthy pregnant women were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: The mean±SD values for serum 25(OH)D levels were 13.63±5.5 ng/mL in healthy pregnant women and 12.05±3.3 ng/mL in pregnant women with chronic HBV infection (p < 0.01). Serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with seasonal variation in healthy pregnant women (p = 0.01); however, similar results were not observed in pregnant women with chronic HBV infection (p = 0.10). Furthermore, multivariate analysis indicated that only ALT level was independently associated with severe vitamin D deficiency (p = 0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between serum 25(OH)D level and ALT level in pregnant women with chronic HBV infection (r = 0.32; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D levels were lower in pregnant women with chronic HBV infection compared with healthy pregnant women. Vitamin D supplementation can be routinely recommended for pregnant women in China.