Vitamin D Supplementation for Pregnant Women in Bulgaria

The aim: of our study was to evaluate the levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25 (OH) D] in pregnant Bulgarian women with and without vitamin D supplementation. Material and methods: We investigated 547 pregnant Bulgarian women, mean age 30±5 years, median 30 (18-47). All pregnant women filled in a specially designed standard questionnaire. The cohort consisted of 547 unselected pregnant women, 278/547 (50.82%) taking vitamins at the time of the investigation, as a monotherapy or in combination with other medications. We introduced four category level of vitamin D: Severe deficiency: 30 ng / ml. The peripheral levels of 25(OH)D were investigated using a standard Electro Chemyluminescence Immuno Assay (Competition principle) in a central laboratory on the day of the sampling. Results: For the whole group (547 pregnant women), the mean 25(OH)D level was 25.86±9.46 ng / ml; median 24.51 (7.96 - 70.00), corresponding to mild insufficiency. Sufficient vitamin D (≥ 30 ng / ml) had a significantly higher percentage of pregnant women supplemented with vitamin D compared to the non-supplementеd group - 87 (31.29%) versus 61 (22.68%), P < 0.05. At the same time, vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) was significantly higher in pregnant women without supplementation with vitamin D - 86 (31.98%) versus those with supplementation - 61 (21.94%), P < 0.01. In conclusion: the levels of vitamin D among pregnant Bulgarian women are within the span of mild insufficiency, probably due to the intake of combined vitamin supplements by approximately half of the studied women during the pregnancy.