A recent follow-up to the MAVIDOS trial confirms that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy improves offspring bone mineral density, with benefits persisting up to seven years of age. Study: Pregnancy vitamin D supplementation and offspring bone mineral density in childhood Follow-up of a randomised controlled trial. Image Credit: April stock / Shutterstock.
com Previously, the MAVIDOS trial reported that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy significantly improved offspring's bone mineral density (BMD) when measured at four years. In a recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , researchers examine the persistence of this improvement in BMD into later childhood years. What is the MAVIDOS study? The MAVIDOS study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that assessed the effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy in the United Kingdom.
All participants enrolled in the study were between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation and received 1,000 IU of vitamin D/day until delivery. A total of 965 individuals were included in the study, with 723 children born at term. Of these term children, 477 underwent a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan from which BMD could be assessed at four years of age.
By the second time point of six to seven years, 447 children underwent a second DXA scan. Children who completed the second visit were more likely to be born to non-smoking older mothers with a higher educational level. These children also had a.
