ArticleBMJ nutrition, prevention & health2021
Impact evaluation of the efficacy of different doses of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on pregnancy and birth outcomes: a randomised, controlled, dose comparison trial in Pakistan.
Article in BMJ nutrition, prevention & health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effectiveness of statins, metformin, and vitamin D, for prevention of preeclampsia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trials.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of vitamin and multiple micronutrient supplementation for pregnant and/or lactating women on maternal and infant nutritional status in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation During Pregnancy on Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Long-term supplementation with 3200 to 4000 IU of vitamin D daily and adverse events: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Vitamin D supplementation higher than 2000 IU/day compared to lower dose on maternal-fetal outcome: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- Effect of early vitamin D supplementation on the incidence of preeclampsia in primigravid women: a randomised clinical trial in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Trial
- Vitamin D and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR).International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Effect of Vitamin-D on Glycemic Parameters and Adiponectin in gestational diabetes.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Review: Influence of 25(OH)D Blood Concentration and Supplementation during Pregnancy on Preeclampsia Development and Neonatal Outcomes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Review
- Vitamin D Status and Gestational Diabetes in Russian Pregnant Women in the Period between 2012 and 2021: A Nested Case-Control Study.Nutrients · 2022Article
- The Burden of Cancer, Government Strategic Policies, and Challenges in Pakistan: A Comprehensive Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundVitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is a public health problem in Pakistan and is prevalent among most women of reproductive age in the country. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy is suggested to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes and vitamin D deficiency in both the mother and her newborn.
methodsWe conducted a double-blinded, randomised controlled trial in Karachi, Pakistan to evaluate the effect of different doses of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on biochemical markers (serum 25(OH)D, calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase) in women and neonates, and on pregnancy and birth outcomes (gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, low birth weight, preterm births and stillbirths).
resultsPregnant women (N=350) in their first trimester were recruited and randomised to three treatment groups of vitamin D supplementation: 4000 IU/day (group A, n=120), 2000 IU/day (group B, n=115) or 400 IU/day (group C, n=115). Women and their newborn in group A had the lowest vitamin D deficiency at endline (endline: 75.9%; neonatal: 64.9%), followed by group B (endline: 84.9%; neonatal: 73.7%) and then the control group (endline: 90.2%; neonatal: 91.8%). Vitamin D deficiency was significantly lower in group A than in group C (p=0.006) among women at endline and lower in both groups A and B than in the control group (p=0.001) in neonates. Within groups, serum 25(OH)D was significantly higher between baseline and endline in group A and between maternal baseline and neonatal levels in groups A and B. Participant serum 25(OH)D levels at the end of the trial were positively correlated with those in intervention group A (4000 IU/day) (β=4.16, 95% CI 1.6 to 6.7, p=0.002), with food group consumption (β=0.95, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.89, p=0.047) and with baseline levels of serum 25(OH)D (β=0.43, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.58, p<0.0001).
conclusionThe evidence provided in our study indicates that vitamin D supplementation of 4000 IU/day was more effective in reducing vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women and in improving serum 25(OH)D levels in mothers and their neonates compared with 2000 IU/day and 400 IU/day.
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