Neonatal Vitamin D Levels Appear to Affect MS Risk Later in Life
12/2016
BY SARAH OWENS
Newborns who had low concentrations of vitamin D in blood spot samples had an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults, according to a new study published online on November 30 in Neurology.
Growing research evidence supports an association between low vitamin D levels and an increased risk of MS, and studies have shown that vitamin D dietary supplementation confers an MS-protective effect. Additionally, patients with MS who live in the Northern hemisphere seem slightly more likely to have been born in April or May, suggesting that low exposure to vitamin D in utero during low-sunlight months may increase MS risk.
The results of the current study, which corroborate previous findings, "provide a rationale for universal vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy," the study authors, led by Nete Munk Nielsen, MD, MSc, PhD, researcher in epidemiology at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, wrote.
For the study, researchers identified 521 adult patients with MS and 972 age- and sex-matched controls in Denmark who as babies had provided dried blood spot samples to the Danish Newborn Screening Biobank. The researchers used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy to measure levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in these samples.
They found that lower levels of 25[OH]D in neonates' blood samples were associated with an increased risk of developing MS. After dividing the neonates' vitamin D levels into quintiles, the researchers found that the risk of developing MS as an adult was highest among patients who had the lowest concentrations of vitamin D as newborns (<20.7 nmol/L), and lowest among patients with the highest concentrations of vitamin D (≥48.9 nmol/L).
Overall, treating blood vitamin D concentrations as a continuous variable, the researchers calculated that every 25 nmol/L increase in 25[OH]D resulted in a 30 percent reduced risk of developing MS. The results remained consistent after the researchers adjusted for parental ethnicity, birthweight, and gestational age in a multivariable analysis.
The results, the study authors say, support two sets of findings: that vitamin D plays a protective role in the development of MS, and that vitamin D levels in utero affect the risk of developing MS as an adult. The mechanism of this effect is not yet understood, but animal studies suggest it may relate to the effect of vitamin D deficiency in altering mitochondrial, cytoskeletal, and synaptic brain functions, the study authors noted.
Since vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women is highly prevalent globally, the researchers concluded, vitamin D supplementation should be strongly considered during pregnancy to potentially protect both mother and newborn.
The researchers noted several limitations to their study. Among them, 25[OH]D stored in the Biobank may have degraded due to storage conditions and levels of 25[OH]D measured in neonatal blood may be different from 25[OH]D levels in utero.
http://journals.lww.com/neurotodayonline/blog/breakingnews/Pages/post.aspx?PostID=590
BY SARAH OWENS
Newborns who had low concentrations of vitamin D in blood spot samples had an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults, according to a new study published online on November 30 in Neurology.
Growing research evidence supports an association between low vitamin D levels and an increased risk of MS, and studies have shown that vitamin D dietary supplementation confers an MS-protective effect. Additionally, patients with MS who live in the Northern hemisphere seem slightly more likely to have been born in April or May, suggesting that low exposure to vitamin D in utero during low-sunlight months may increase MS risk.
The results of the current study, which corroborate previous findings, "provide a rationale for universal vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy," the study authors, led by Nete Munk Nielsen, MD, MSc, PhD, researcher in epidemiology at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, wrote.
For the study, researchers identified 521 adult patients with MS and 972 age- and sex-matched controls in Denmark who as babies had provided dried blood spot samples to the Danish Newborn Screening Biobank. The researchers used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy to measure levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in these samples.
They found that lower levels of 25[OH]D in neonates' blood samples were associated with an increased risk of developing MS. After dividing the neonates' vitamin D levels into quintiles, the researchers found that the risk of developing MS as an adult was highest among patients who had the lowest concentrations of vitamin D as newborns (<20.7 nmol/L), and lowest among patients with the highest concentrations of vitamin D (≥48.9 nmol/L).
Overall, treating blood vitamin D concentrations as a continuous variable, the researchers calculated that every 25 nmol/L increase in 25[OH]D resulted in a 30 percent reduced risk of developing MS. The results remained consistent after the researchers adjusted for parental ethnicity, birthweight, and gestational age in a multivariable analysis.
The results, the study authors say, support two sets of findings: that vitamin D plays a protective role in the development of MS, and that vitamin D levels in utero affect the risk of developing MS as an adult. The mechanism of this effect is not yet understood, but animal studies suggest it may relate to the effect of vitamin D deficiency in altering mitochondrial, cytoskeletal, and synaptic brain functions, the study authors noted.
Since vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women is highly prevalent globally, the researchers concluded, vitamin D supplementation should be strongly considered during pregnancy to potentially protect both mother and newborn.
The researchers noted several limitations to their study. Among them, 25[OH]D stored in the Biobank may have degraded due to storage conditions and levels of 25[OH]D measured in neonatal blood may be different from 25[OH]D levels in utero.
http://journals.lww.com/neurotodayonline/blog/breakingnews/Pages/post.aspx?PostID=590
