@article {Dijkstra750, author = {S H Dijkstra and A van Beek and J W Janssen and L H M de Vleeschouwer and W A Huysman and E L T van den Akker}, title = {High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in newborn infants of high-risk mothers}, volume = {92}, number = {9}, pages = {750--753}, year = {2007}, doi = {10.1136/adc.2006.105577}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}, abstract = {Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in newborn infants of mothers at risk of vitamin D deficiency because of dark skin or the wearing of concealing clothes (such as a veil) compared with a group presumed not to be at risk. A second aim was to correlate these newborn infants{\textquoteright} vitamin D concentrations with biochemical parameters of vitamin D metabolism and bone turnover at birth.Design: A prospective study conducted between April 2004 and February 2006 including women delivering during this period and their newborn infants.Setting: The outpatient clinic of the obstetrics department, Sint Franciscus Gasthuis, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Patients: Eighty seven newborn infants of healthy mothers with either dark skin and/or concealing clothing (risk group) or light skin (control group).Results: We found a significant difference in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D3 \<25 nmol/l) between newborn infants of mothers at risk and those of mothers in the control group (63.3\% vs 15.8\%; p\<0.001). Mean alkaline phosphatase concentrations were significantly higher in the at risk group.Conclusions: Newborn infants of mothers with dark skin or wearing concealing clothes are at great risk of vitamin D deficiency at birth. The clinical implications are unknown. Further research is necessary to determine the long-term consequences of maternal and neonatal vitamin D deficiency so that guidelines on vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy can be issued.}, issn = {0003-9888}, URL = {https://adc.bmj.com/content/92/9/750}, eprint = {https://adc.bmj.com/content/92/9/750.full.pdf}, journal = {Archives of Disease in Childhood} }