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Vitamin D supplements help reduce the risk of pregnancy loss

A new study has suggested that Vitamin D supplements can help to reduce the risk of pregnancy loss in women who have previously suffered a miscarriage.

Lead author of the report, Dr Sunni Mumford, from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Maryland, USA said, “Our findings suggest that vitamin D may play a protective role in pregnancy.”

The study included study of 1200 pregnant women who had previously suffered a miscarriage. They took samples of blood before pregnancy and then 8 weeks into the gestation period in order to determine vitamin D levels.

The research results found that if vitamin D levels were sufficient (greater than 30ng/ml) then women are;

  • 10% more likely to conceive
  • 15% more likely to have a live birth
  • 12% less likely to miscarry with every 10ng/ml increase in vitamin D before becoming pregnant

The findings of the research published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology

Previous studies in this area have shown that that vitamin D is involved in placenta development and embryo production.

Unusual diabetes approach: Vitamin D may boost insulin cell survival.

A recent study has shown that higher levels of vitamin D can help combat diabetes.

Vitamin D appears to play a role in the preservation of the beta cells that produce, store and release the hormone insulin, opening up possibilities of harnessing this benefit to tackle type 2 diabetes, say researchers.

The discovery was made by Salk Institute researchers, who describe activation of vitamin D receptors (VDR) at enhanced levels, which appear to dampen the inflammation process – one of the triggers for the condition.

“This study started out by looking at the role of vitamin D in beta cells,” said first study author Dr Zong Wei, a research associate in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory.

“Studies have suggested a correlation between high vitamin D concentrations in the blood and a lower risk of diabetes, but the underlying mechanism was not well understood.

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