Open AccessVitamin D status and the prevalence of deficiency in lactating women from eight provinces and municipalities in China
Author(s) -
Yao Zhao,
Yu Yan,
Hong Li,
Zhirong Chang,
Yongjin Li,
Yifan Duan,
Jie Wang,
Shan Jiang,
Zhenyu Yang,
Shan Yin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0174378
Subject(s) - vitamin d deficiency , medicine , vitamin d and neurology , demography , odds ratio , ethnic group , china , vitamin , geography , archaeology , sociology , anthropology
Background Vitamin D deficiency has become prevalent worldwide in recent years. However, less evidence was available for lactating women. Objective The purpose of the study was to understand vitamin D status and prevalence of deficiency in lactating women and associated risk factors for vitamin D deficiency from eight provinces and municipalities in China. Methods Lactating women within 1–10 months postpartum were recruited in 2011–2013 from eight provinces and municipalities in China. Radioimmunoassay was used to measure serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration. Standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on season, living site, ethnicity and socio-demographic characteristics. Results Totally 2004 lactating women were recruited. The median (p25, p75) of 25(OH)D was 15.8 (10.5, 24.0) nmol/L. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 85.3% as 25(OH)D <30nmol/L. Serum 25(OH)D levels of lactating women were significantly lower during October-January (14.0nmol/L) than during February-May (18.0nmol/L) ( P <0.001), and were significantly higher in Dai ethnicity (22.5nmol/L) than in Hui ethnicity (Chinese Muslims) (9.0nmol/L) ( P <0.001). For every 10,000 CNY annual income per capita increasing, serum 25(OH)D levels significantly increased 1.04 times ( P <0.001). The odds of vitamin D deficiency in winter were 2.56 times higher than that in spring (OR 2.56, 95%CI: 1.91–3.43). Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency of lactating women was highly prevalent in the eight provinces and municipalities in China. It is urgent to study the strategy and intervention ways for improving vitamin D status of lactating women, especially for certain population groups during low sunlight exposure season.