Maternal and neonatal umbilical cord serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D among Sudanese women with normal pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

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There are few published studies on the association between maternal and umbilical cord serum vitamin D concentrations in Sub-Saharan Africans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between mothers and umbilical cord 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-[OH)]D) levels. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Saad Abuelela Maternity Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. 90 pairs of mothers and neonates (umbilical cords) were enrolled. The median (IQR) mother’s age and gestational age were 28.5 (26.0‒30.0) years and 38.0 (37.5‒38.2) weeks, respectively. The median (IQR) umbilical cord level of 25-(OH)D was significantly higher than the median maternal level of 25-(OH)D (30.3 [18.2‒38.4] vs. 20.2 [17.5], ng/mL, P = 0.011). Moreover, compared to the maternal samples, a significantly low number of umbilical cord samples had a vitamin D deficiency (≤ 20; 25/90 [27.8%] vs. 42/90 [46.7%], P = 0.013). The umbilical cord 25-(OH)D levels were positively correlated with and significantly higher than the maternal 25-(OH)D levels (r = 0.401).