Pregnancy: Vitamin-D Deficiency and Gestational Diabetes Risk

Vitamin-D Deficiency and Gestational Diabetes

Recent studies of pregnant women show that vitamin-D deficiency during pregnancy was linked with a significantly increased risk for development of gestational diabetes by the second trimester.

Increased insulin resistance was linked to vitamin-D deficiency and increased incidence of gestational diabetes.

Take home message? If you are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy, please have your vitamin-D levels and metabolic markers for insulin resistance checked. If the vitamin D level is below 50, try to supplement with vitamin-D to get your levels up near 50 nmol/L. If you have evidence of insulin resistance or prediabetes, work with a doctor or nutritionist who can put you on an appropriate low glycemic load but nutrient dense diet during your pregnancy. At my clinic that is exactly how I would approach a prediabetic pregnant patient along with vitamin D deficiency.

References:
Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Sep;207(3):182.e1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.05.022. Epub 2012 Jun 1

Association between maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f1169 (Published 26 March 2013)