Global summary of maternal and newborn vitamin D status - a systematic review

Pregnant women and newborns are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Our objective was to create a global summary of maternal and newborn vitamin D status. We completed a systematic review (1959–2014) and meta‐analysis of studies reporting serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration in maternal and newborn populations. The 95 identified studies were unevenly distributed by World Health Organization (WHO) region: Americas (24), European (33), Eastern Mediterranean (13), South‐East Asian (7), Western Pacific (16) and African (2). Average maternal 25(OH)D concentrations (nmol L−1) by region were 47–65 (Americas), 15–72 (European), 13–60 (Eastern Mediterranean), 20–52 (South‐East Asian), 42–72 (Western Pacific) and 92 (African). Average newborn 25(OH)D concentrations (nmol L−1) were 35–77 (Americas), 20–50 (European), 5–50 (Eastern Mediterranean), 20–22 (South‐East Asian), 32–67 (Western Pacific) and 27–35 (African). The prevalences of 25(OH)D