The following is a summary of “Association of serum vitamin D levels with ectopic pregnancy,” published in the December 2022 issue of Primary care by Abedini, et al.
Several studies have explored the possible connection between vitamin D deficiency and ectopic pregnancy. Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Iranian women, researchers, for a study, examined the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and ectopic pregnancy during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The study utilized a cross-sectional design with a control group. The cases group comprised 51 pregnant women with ectopic pregnancies, while the control group comprised 51 pregnant women with normal pregnancies. Blood samples were collected from all pregnant women to measure the concentration of vitamin D serum using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The collected data were statistically analyzed using SPSS Statistical Software Package Version 16.0, and a P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The results indicated that the differences between the two groups’ demographic characteristics, such as mean age, body mass index, and the number of deliveries, were not statistically significant. However, the blood vitamin D level (ng/ml) was significantly higher in the control group (34.31 ± 7.32) compared to the group with ectopic pregnancy (20.95 ± 20.68) (<0.001). The study also found that women with inadequate serum levels of vitamin D (less than 30 ng/ml) were 6.40 times more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy than normal pregnant women (OR = 6.40; 95% CI; 3.260–15.834).
Based on the study’s findings, measuring women’s serum vitamin D levels before their pregnancy was crucial due to the correlation between vitamin D levels and ectopic pregnancy.