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The utility of neonatal dried blood spots for the assessment of neonatal vitamin D status
Author(s) -
Eyles Darryl W.,
Morley Ruth,
Anderson Cameron,
Ko Pauline,
Burne Thomas,
Permezel Michael,
Mortensen Preben B.,
NørgaardPedersen Bent,
Hougaard David M.,
McGrath John J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01105.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cord blood , vitamin d and neurology , gestation , newborn screening , dried blood , pediatrics , physiology , pregnancy , chemistry , genetics , chromatography , biology
Summary Eyles DW, Morley R, Anderson C, Ko P, Burne T, Permezel M, Mortensen PB, Nørgaard‐Pedersen B, Hougaard DM, McGrath JJ. The utility of neonatal dried blood spots for the assessment of neonatal vitamin D status. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2010; 24: 303–308. Evidence suggests that low concentrations of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25OHD3) during gestation may be associated with a range of adverse health outcomes in later life. Retrospective estimation of perinatal vitamin D status using questionnaires is extremely unreliable and stored serum samples are rarely available. We aimed to validate the use of dried blood spots (DBS) to estimate perinatal vitamin D status and to determine whether inter‐group differences in cord serum 25OHD3 are reflected in DBS. We examined 25OHD3 in 4‐year‐old frozen cord sera and matched DBS from neonates born at a hospital in Melbourne, Australia ( n = 100). We examined the correlation between these values and also investigated whether the expected seasonal (winter/spring vs. summer/autumn) difference in serum 25OHD3 was reflected in DBS values. 25OHD3 was assayed in triplicate using tandem mass spectroscopy in both a 3 µL sample of cord serum and in matched 3 mm punches from archived DBS. 25OHD3 concentrations in neonatal cord serum and DBS were highly correlated ( r = 0.85, P < 0.0001). As expected, serum 25OHD3 concentrations were higher in neonates born in summer/autumn (December to March) vs. winter/spring (April to November) (median 46.6 vs. 23.7 nmol/L, P < 0.0001). A comparable difference was seen in DBS values (17.8 vs. 10.5 nmol/L, P = 0.0001). Archived DBS samples provided a valid measure of perinatal vitamin D status and identified inter‐seasonal differences in perinatal 25OHD3 concentrations. They could be used for case–control studies investigating the association between perinatal vitamin D status and later health outcomes.