ASSOCIATION OF VITAMIN D WITH SERUM CALCIUM AND HEMOGLOBIN IN THIRD- TRIMESTER PREGNANT FEMALES

Abstract

Introduction: vitamin D is the most important vitamin and play vital role in reproductive health. This cross-sectional study is done to evaluate the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women in third trimester and its relation with age, serum calcium and hemoglobin. The study was carried out at the Department of Physiology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro,  from August2023 toMay2024.

Methodology: 100 pregnant women (20–37 years) in the third trimester recruited from different hospitals of Hyderabad, Sindh, were participated. Vitamin D was determined using a Spectrum ELISA kit, and serum calcium and hemoglobin were measured with the Roche Cobas 6000. Data analysis: Analysis was conducted using SPSS 21.

Results: Mean age of the participants was 26.96 ± 4.37 years. The prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) was 62%, with 34% insufficient and only 4% sufficient; there was a significant negative correlation between maternal age and Vitamin D r = -0.331, p = 0.019. Besides, Vitamin D also established strong positive correlations with serum calcium (r = 0.724, p<0.001) and hemoglobin (r = 0.663, p<0.001), wherein the deficient group has the lowest mean for hemoglobin (8.45 ± 0.68 g/dl).

Conclusion: On the basis of our research we conclude that Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among pregnant women in Sindh. Since low Vitamin D has a strong correlation with hypocalcemia and maternal anemia, it can be deduced that Vitamin D is involved in mineral homeostasis as well as erythropoiesis.