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Clinical Question
Does vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy reduce the risk of asthma in children up to 6 years of age?
Bottom line
In this follow-up report to a previously published study, high-dose vitamin D supplementation (2800 IU/day) during the third trimester of pregnancy compared with a standard prenatal dose of 400 IU/day in average-risk women did not significantly reduce the risk of wheezing-related illness or asthma in offspring through the age of 6 years. 1b
Reference
Study design: Randomized controlled trial (double-blinded)
Funding: Foundation
Setting: Outpatient (any)
Synopsis
These authors initially published a study that reported no benefit to additional prenatal vitamin D (2800 IU/day) during the third trimester of pregnancy compared with a standard prenatal dose of 400 IU/day for reducing the risk of wheezing-related illness in offspring through the age of 3 years. The current updated report presents the results from continued follow-up of the study cohort to the age of 6 years. Asthma was defined as fulfilling standard diagnostic criteria and needing inhaled corticosteroids at any time. Complete follow-up occurred for 94% of participants at 6 years. No significant difference in the diagnosis of asthma occurred between offspring of women in the high-dose supplementation or standard-dose vitamin D groups (8% vs 7%, respectively).
Reviewer
David C. Slawson, MD
Professor and Vice Chair of Family Medicine for Education and Scholarship
Atrium Health
Professor of Family Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill
Charlotte, NC