Air Pollution Linked To Vitamin D Deficiency In Newborns

According to a new study, gestational exposure to ambient urban air pollution, especially late in term, possibly contributes to lower vitamin D levels in children. The study�s authors say that the deficiency could affect the child�s risk of developing disease later in life.

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The study, accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society�s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), shows that maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy might have an influence on the development of asthma and other allergic diseases in young offspring. Though a number of factors could have an effect on vitamin D supply in women, exposure to high levels of air pollution is suggested by the authors as a prime factor in vitamin D deficiency in adults and children, reports Medical News Today.

    �We investigated the associations between gestational exposure to urban air pollutants and vitamin D cord blood serum level,� said Nour Ba�z, MASc, of Intitut National de la Sant� et de la Recherche M�dicale (INSERM) in Paris, France who led the study. �Our findings show for the first time, that exposure to ambient air pollution comparable to current World Health Organization standards might contribute to vitamin D deficiency in newborns.�

For the study, researchers looked at the associations between gestational exposure to urban air pollution and 25-hydroxyvitamin D cord blood serum level in 375 mother-child pairs. Maternal exposure to urban levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter less than 10 micro meters during the whole pregnancy was a strong predictor of low vitamin D status in newborns.

The study�s authors found that the association between gestational exposure to air pollutants and vitamin D deficiency in newborns was the strongest in late-term pregnancies.


Source : Inquisitr