Vitamin D and Toxic Metals in Pregnancy - a Biological Perspective.

Fisher M, Weiler HA, Kuiper JR, Borghese, MM, Buckley JP, Shutt R, Ashley-Martin J, Subramanian A, Arbuckle TE, Potter BK, Little J, Morisset AS, Jukic AM. Current Epidemiology Reports (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-024-00348-0

Question: How might Vitamin D and toxic metals be related in pregnancy?

What did the researchers do:
The researchers searched for published research studies that had examined associations between vitamin D and toxic metals (lead, mercury, cadmium or arsenic) in pregnant women. They reviewed and summarized these studies.

What did they find:
The researchers found 6 studies that had examined associations between vitamin D and metals in pregnancy. Studies in North America suggested that higher vitamin D was associated with lower blood concentrations of some toxic metals during pregnancy. They identified possible ways whereby vitamin D and toxic metals may interact, including metals disrupting vitamin D metabolism and vitamin D decreasing the amount of metals absorbed in the intestine.

What does this mean:
More studies need to be done to examine interactions between toxic metals and vitamin D. If a causal relationship is determined, improved vitamin D status could be a practical means for intervention and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with toxic metal exposures, given that exposure to toxic metals is so common.

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