Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in Indian children: the Mysore Parthenon Study.

Background: Metabolic consequences of vitamin D deficiency have become a recent research focus. Maternal vitamin D status is thought to influence musculoskeletal health in children, but its relation with offspring metabolic risk is not known.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between maternal vitamin D status and anthropometric variables, body composition, and cardiovascular risk markers in Indian children.

Design: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations were measured at 28-32 wk gestation in 568 women who delivered at Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore, India. Anthropometric variables, glucose and insulin concentrations, blood pressure, and fasting lipid concentrations were measured in the offspring at 5 and 9.5 y of age. Muscle-grip strength was measured by using a hand-held dynamometer at age 9.5 y. Arm-muscle area was calculated as a measure of muscle mass. Fasting insulin resistance was calculated by using the homeostasis model assessment equation.

Results: Sixty-seven percent of women had vitamin D deficiency [serum 25(OH)D concentration <50 nmol/L]. At ages 5 and 9.5 y, children born to vitamin D-deficient mothers had smaller arm-muscle area in comparison with children born to mothers without deficiency (P < 0.05). There was no difference in grip strength between offspring of women with and without vitamin D deficiency. At 9.5 y, children of vitamin D-deficient mothers had higher fasting insulin resistance than did children of nondeficient women (P = 0.04). There were no associations between maternal vitamin D status and other offspring risk factors at either age.

Conclusion: Intrauterine exposure to low 25(OH)D concentrations is associated with less muscle mass and higher insulin resistance in children.