Vitamin D supplementation preserves glucose homeostasis in mid-late gestation

A recent study suggests that in mid-late gestation, vitamin D supplementation significantly preserves glucose homeostasis. This study was published in the journal of Clinical Nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland).

1720 pregnant women at 24-28 weeks gestation were recruited in a multicenter randomized trial and were allocated to receive either 1600 IU/d vitamin D3 (n = 858) or 400 IU/d vitamin D3 (n = 862) for 2 months. Outcomes included changes in baseline fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and serum 25(OH)D levels.

The FPG levels of the intervention group showed no significant variation after two months, while the FPG levels of the control group significantly increased at delivery. Participants with the ApaI SNP CC genotype or BsmI-CC, TaqI-AA, or FokI-AA, respectively, also showed differences in FPG variation. The greatest decline in FPG levels was seen in pregnant women with basal 25(OH)D concentrations greater than 50 nmol/L subgroup. Additionally, FPG decline from vitamin D treatment was more likely to occur in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), multiple pregnancies, or who were overweight.

This study showed that vitamin D supplementation can protect glucose homeostasis in mid-late gestation and glycemic response to vitamin D of these pregnant women may be dependent on VDR gene polymorphism, on basal 25(OH)D status, or their metabolic profiles.