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Newborns were 72X more likely to be Vitamin D deficient above the Arctic Circle - July 2025


Vitamin D supply of the mother-placenta-newborn triad in the Arctic zone of Russia

Neonatology: News, Opinions, Training]. 2025; 13 (2): 26–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2308-2402-2025-13-2-26-32 (in Russian)
Maria A. Chebargina, Olga A. Senkevich, Yuri G. Kovalsky, Mikhail V. Gorokhovsky

Vitamin D status during pregnancy is important for maternal health, fetal skeletal growth, and optimal pregnancy outcomes.

Objective – to assess the level of vitamin D supply of the “mother – placenta – newborn” triad in the Arctic zone of the Far Eastern Federal District.

Material and methods. Study design: observational, analytical, cross-sectional. To assess the distribution of vitamin D content in the dynamic system “mother–placenta–fetus (newborn)”. Analysis of the concentration of calcidiol in each link of the system was carried out. Using the random sampling method, 30 triads “mother–placenta–newborn” were included in the main study group (Arctic zone, Anadyr) that were characterized by the physiological course of the perinatal period. The control group of the study (Southern zone, Khabarovsk) included 54 triads.

Results. Concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood serum of mothers was in 1.5 times lower than in newborns (10.0 vs 14.6 ng/ml; p=0.003) and in placentas (14.3 ng/ml, p=0.006). The vitamin D supply in the subgroups of newborns and placentas did not have statistically significant differences. 100.0% of mothers had vitamin D deficiency. Predominant of severe deficiency in comparison with the subgroups of newborns and placentas, respectively (p=0.031 vs p=0.005). Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in mothers of the main study group were diagnosed 8 and 3 times more often in comparison with the southern group (OR=8.000; 95% CI 2.636–24.279 and OR=2.857; 95% CI 1.117–7.311) respectively. The prevalence of low vitamin D status in the subgroup of newborns was 72 times higher in the Arctic zone compared with the southern group (OR=72.000; 95% CI 16.655–311.252).

Conclusion. It was found that pregnant women and newborns from the Arctic zone of Russia are an extremely vulnerable group of the population due to the climatic and geographical features of the territory.


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