High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency among South Asian pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Association Between Neonatal and Maternal Vitamin D Levels at Birth

Background Vitamin D is an important nutrient for skeletal and extra-skeletal health. Mothers and their neonates are frequently vitamin D deficient. This study aimed to find the association of neonatal vitamin D levels with maternal vitamin D levels at birth. Materials and methods This descriptive-observational study was done on mother-baby dyads at a tertiary center, which included mothers delivering a healthy baby at term gestation. In this study, we reviewed 102 mother-baby dyads. The maternal venous blood and cord blood samples were collected after delivery to determine vitamin D levels. Data collected were maternal socio-demographic variables, weight, height, and neonatal anthropometric variables. The descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and Pearson's R were used for analysis. The significant p-value was <0.05. Results The mean (SD) age and body mass index (BMI) of the mothers were 26.50 (4.04) years and 24.27 (4.06) kg/m2, respectively. Vitamin D insufficient levels were reported in 96 (92.2%) mothers and 100 (98%) neonates. The mean (SD) vitamin D levels of the mother and neonate were 16.20 (8.29) and 15.23 (7.06) ng/mL, respectively, and were positively associated (chi-square value 3584.16; Pearson's R-value 0.676; p<0.0001). A significant association was found between maternal age, maternal dressing type, BMI, and neonatal anthropometric variables with both maternal and neonatal vitamin D levels. Conclusion A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in both mothers and their neonates was found along with a positive correlation between their vitamin D levels. Diagnostic screenings for vitamin D levels and supplementation during pregnancy should be considered to prevent deficiency in the mother-baby dyad.

Healthcare access for pregnant women in a rural developing country context: Formal and informal institutional challenges

This study examines healthcare access for pregnant women in a rural developing country context. Drawing upon institutional theory and Levesque et al's model of access, the study finds pregnant women face challenges both of a formal and informal nature in accessing healthcare. The findings suggest the need for integrated and collaborative workings across formal and informal institutional networks. Theoretically, the study makes two contributions. First, it adds value to institutional theory by incorporating a dimension of access. Second, it builds upon Levesque et al.'s healthcare access framework by highlighting the role and significance of a third dimension-that is informal institutions, in addition to the current two-formal institutions and individual factors.

Prospective cohort study of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy: Prevalence and limited effectiveness of 1000 IU vitamin D supplementation

BACKGROUND

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent worldwide among pregnant women. Although vitamin D supplementation is effective in improving vitamin D status, the safety and optimal dosing of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy remain less well understood.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women and evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in improving vitamin D status during pregnancy.

DESIGN

This prospective cohort study assessed the impact of a 16-week daily vitamin D supplementation 1000 IU regimen on vitamin D status among pregnant women.

METHODS

A total of 365 pregnant women were recruited, and their baseline total circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations were measured. Of these, 249 participants completed the study, which involved oral daily supplementation with 1000 IU of vitamin D and a repeat of total circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations after 16 weeks.

RESULTS

The study found that 57.7% of the participants had vitamin D deficiency, consistent with the rates reported in other studies. However, vitamin D supplementation at a dose of 1000 IU had a small effect size and was not clinically significant. However, 67% of participants with vitamin D deficiency remained deficient; among participants initially with vitamin D insufficiency, 30% became deficient. Moreover, 26.5% of individuals with sufficient vitamin D status at 12 weeks showed insufficient levels by 28 weeks.

CONCLUSION

Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among pregnant women, and vitamin D supplementation at a daily dose of 1000 IU may not adequately address this problem. Although the study has limitations, its results align with previous research and may apply to other populations with a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. Further research is necessary to determine the most effective approach for addressing prenatal vitamin D deficiency.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Indonesian pregnant women: a public health emergency

OBJECTIVE

There are few in-depth investigations or meta-analyses determining the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in expectant Indonesian mothers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine this prevalence.

DATA SOURCES

We searched information using the following databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Neliti, Indonesia Onesearch, Indonesian Scientific Journal Database, bioRxiv, and medRxiv.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The inclusion criteria included cross-sectional studies or observational studies published in any language, studying Indonesian pregnant women whose vitamin D levels were measured.

METHODS

Vitamin D deficiency in this review was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol/L, whereas vitamin D insufficiency was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D between 50 and 75 nmol/L. The analysis was done using Stata software with the Metaprop command.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis included 6 studies involving 830 pregnant women aged 27.6-30.6 years. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Indonesian pregnant women was 63% (95% confidence interval, 40-86; I2, 98.9%; P<.0001). The prevalence rates of vitamin D insufficiency and hypovitaminosis D were 25% (95% confidence interval, 16-34; I2, 83.37%; P<.01) and 78% (95% confidence interval, 60-96; I2, 96.81%; P<.01), respectively. The mean serum vitamin D level was 40.59 nmol/L (95% confidence interval, 26.04-55.13; I2, 99.57%; P<.01).

CONCLUSION

Pregnant women in Indonesia are at risk for vitamin D deficiency, which constitutes a public health issue. Possible unwanted consequences, including preeclampsia and small-for-gestational-age newborns, are more likely to occur when vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women is left untreated. However, more studies are needed to prove these relationships.

Risk perception of sun exposure and knowledge of vitamin D among the healthcare providers in a high-risk country: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

High levels of vitamin D deficiency are commonly reported even in regions with abundant sunshine. This necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the determinants that influence sun exposure practices. As the primary source of health-related knowledge for the general public, the attitude of the healthcare professionals towards sunlight and their awareness related to vitamin D deficiency can be critical in this regard.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,242 physicians, intern doctors, and senior medical students in Bangladesh from October 2019 to February 2020. A pre-tested structured questionnaire (containing twelve close-ended questions) was used. The perceptions of health risks due to sun exposure, and basic knowledge of the physiological and epidemiological aspects of vitamin D deficiency were tested.

RESULTS

An overall negative attitude towards sunlight in the context of Bangladesh was highlighted - 68% participants thought regular sun exposure would be harmful or very harmful; 26% thought the level of UV radiation was very high; 44% recommended using sunscreen always; skin burns, heat stroke, and cancer were selected as potential consequences of regular sun exposure by 45%, 21%, and 30% respondents respectively. Overall knowledge regarding vitamin D deficiency appeared to be biased towards bone health; other symptoms and associated illnesses not having obvious link to Calcium-metabolism were identified much lesser frequently. Furthermore, 'sunrise to 10 am' was identified as the best time to get vitamin D by 69% participants; 60% believed < 30 min of weekly sun exposure would be sufficient for the Bangladeshi population; an only 33% identified that prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Bangladesh would be 50% or more. Taking vitamin D-rich food was suggested by more respondents over regular sun exposure (43% vs. 33%) as more effective remedial strategy to curb vitamin D deficiency in Bangladesh.

CONCLUSION

In addition to highlighting some crucial knowledge gaps, results from this study provides a comprehensive baseline dataset for knowledge and attitude regarding the public health aspects of vitamin D deficiency among the healthcare providers in Bangladesh, which would be generalizable to other countries with similar socio-demographic context, and will facilitate taking more effective policies worldwide.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Toward Coronavirus Disease (COVID- 19) in Southeast and South Asia: A Mixed Study Design Approach

Background

Coronavirus has spread to almost every country since its emergence in Wuhan, China and countries have been adopted an array of measures to control the rapid spread of the epidemic. Here, we aimed to assess the person's knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) toward the COVID-19 epidemic in Southeast and South Asia applying the mixed study design (cross-sectional and systematic review).

Methods

In the cross-sectional study, 743 respondents' socio-demographic and KAP-related information was collected through an online population-based survey from the Malaysian population. In the systematic review, the database PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar search engine were searched and related published articles from South and Southeast Asia were included. Frequency distribution, Chi-square association test and binary logistic regression were fitted using cross-sectional data whereas random effect model and study bias were performed in meta-analysis. We used 95% confidence interval and P <0.05 as statistical significances.

Results

The prevalence of good knowledge, positive attitude and frequent practice toward COVID-19 epidemic were 52.6%, 51.8% and 57.1%, respectively, obtained by cross-sectional data analysis. The KAP prevalence were ranged from 26.53% (Thailand) to 95.4% (Nepal); 59.3% (Turkey) to 92.5% (Pakistan); and 50.2 (Turkey) to 97% (Afghanistan), respectively, obtained by 18 studies included in the meta-analysis. The prevalence of KAP was higher [84% vs. 79%, Pheterogeneity <0.001; 83% vs. 80%, Pheterogeneity <0.001; 85% vs. 83%, Pheterogeneity <0.001] in South Asia compared to Southeast Asia, obtained by subgroup analysis. Some studies reported mean level instead of the proportion of the KAP where the score varied from 8.15-13.14; 2.33-33.0; and 1.97-31.03, respectively. Having more knowledge and attitude were encouraged more likely to practice toward COVID-19. Study suggests age, gender, education, place of residence and occupation as the most frequent significant risk factors of KAP toward COVID-19.

Conclusion

The study sufficiently informs how other countries in Southeast and South Asia enriches their KAP behaviors during the pandemic which may help health professionals and policymakers to develop targeted interventions and effective practices.

High burden of hypovitaminosis D among the children and adolescents in South Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Vitamin D is vital for the growth and development of children. While deficiency and/or insufficiency of vitamin D among South Asian children are frequently reported in the literature, the lack of a meta-analysis has left its true extent poorly characterized. In this study, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and perform meta-analyses of the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among the children of the South Asian countries.

METHODS

Two major electronic search engines (PubMed and Scopus) and one database (Google scholar) were used; original studies, conducted among South Asian children and adolescents and published between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2019. A random-effect meta-analysis was also performed to calculate the pooled prevalence of hypovitaminosis D followed by subgroup analyses for countries and age groups.

RESULTS

After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 41 studies with a total population size of 18,233 were finally selected. The overall prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was 61% [95% CI: 46% to 71%] with highly significant heterogeneity (I2 = 99.72%; p < 0.0001). The average level of serum vitamin D ranged from 5 ng/mL to 34 ng/mL, with a weighted mean of 19.15 ng/mL (weighted standard deviation 11.59 ng/mL). Country-wise analysis showed that hypovitaminosis D in Afghanistan was the highest [96.2%; 95% CI: 91% to 99%], followed by Pakistan [94%; 95% CI: 90% to 96%], India [64%; 95% CI: 46% to 79%], Bangladesh [35.48%; 95% CI: 32% to 39%], Nepal [35%; 95% CI: 1% to 83%], and Sri Lanka [25%; 95% CI: 16% to 36%]. Age group analyses revealed that hypovitaminosis D was most prevalent among neonates [85%; 95% CI: 76% to 91%], followed by school-going children [57%; 95% CI: 33% to 80%], and preschool children [55%; 95% CI: 35% to 75%].

CONCLUSION

This study generates quantitative evidence and specific extent of hypovitaminosis D in the South Asian countries as a public health concern. Being the first systematic review for this region, results from this study will create awareness and will facilitate adopting mitigation strategies by the policymakers and the governments to address this problem.