Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2013) 32 P125 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.32.P125

ECE2013 Poster Presentations Calcium and Vitamin D metabolism (62 abstracts)

An observational study reveals that neonatal vitamin D is primarily determined by maternal contributions: implications of a new assay on the roles of vitamin D forms

Spyridon Karras 1 , Iltaf Shah 1, , Andrea Petroczi 1, , Dimitrios Goulis 1 , Helen Bili 1 , Fotini Papadopoulou 1, , Panagiotis Anagnostis 1 , Aggeliki Persinaki 1 , Basil Tarlatzis 1 & Declan Naughton 1,


1Unit of Reproductive Endocrinology, First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2School of Life Sciences, Kingston University, London, UK; 3Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Panagia General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.


Introduction: Vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy are measured to diagnose states of insufficiency or deficiency. The aim of this study is to apply accurate assays of vitamin D forms (single hydroxylated (25(OH)D2, 25(OH)D3), double-hydroxylated (1α,25(OH)2D2, 1α,25(OH)2D3), epimers (3-epi-25(OH)D2, 3-epi-25(OH)D3)) in mothers (serum) and neonates (umbilical cord) i) to explore maternal and neonatal vitamin D biodynamics and ii) to identify maternal predictors of neonatal vitamin D concentrations.

Methods: All vitamin D forms were quantified in 60 mother–neonate paired samples by a novel mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) assay. Maternal characteristics (age, ultraviolet B exposure, dietary intake, calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone) were recorded. Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict neonatal 25(OH)D concentrations.

Results: Mothers had similar concentrations of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 forms compared to neonates (17.9±13.2 vs 15.9±13.6 ng/ml, P=0.289) with a ratio of 1:3. The epimer concentrations were similar in mothers and neonates (4.8±7.8 vs 4.5±4.7 ng/ml, P=0.556). Neonatal 25(OH)D2 was best predicted by maternal characteristics, whereas 25(OH)D3 was strongly associated to maternal vitamin D forms (R2=0.253 vs 0.076 and R2=0.109 vs 0.478, respectively). Maternal characteristics explained 12.2% of the neonatal 25(OH)D, maternal 25(OH)D concentrations explained 32.1%, while epimers contributed an additional 11.9%.

Conclusions: By applying a novel highly specific vitamin D assay, the present study is the first to quantify 3-epi-25(OH)D concentrations in mother–newborn pairs. Maternal characteristics and active forms of vitamin D, along with their epimers explain 56% of neonate vitamin D3 concentrations. The roles of active and epimer forms in the maternal–neonatal vitamin D relationship warrant further investigation.

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