This process is accelerated with inflammation and oxidative stress. They are important in maintaining genomic stability and protect chromosomes from end-to-end fusion and degradation. Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures containing TTAGGG repeats at the end of the chromosomes. It is relatively well established that diet has a profound effect on DNA integrity, epigenetic mechanisms (such as DNA methylation), and telomere length. In addition, studies have shown a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy (45% of Belgian pregnant women), which is a significant factor influencing the long-term health of the offspring. There is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) < 20 ng/mL)), due to low dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake, low sun exposure, and vitamin D related gene polymorphisms, in 30–60% of the population in Western Europe. Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can influence fetal growth and development and eventually the health of the child. To conclude, vitamin D intake (diet + supplements), specifically during the first trimester of pregnancy, is an important factor associated with TL at birth. In contrast, we found no association between average relative TL of the newborn and mean maternal serum 25-OHD concentrations during pregnancy.
We observed a positive association (β = 0.009, p-value = 0.036) between newborn average relative TL and maternal vitamin D intake (diet + supplement) during the first trimester. In each trimester of pregnancy, maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) concentration was measured. TL was assessed in 108 cord blood using a quantitative real-time PCR method. To calculate the dietary vitamin D intake, 108 women were asked to keep track of their diet using the seven-day estimated diet record (EDR) method. We studied mother–child pairs enrolled in the Maternal Nutrition and Offspring’s Epigenome (MANOE) cohort, Leuven, Belgium. In this study, we want to assess the association between maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy and newborn TL, as reflected by cord blood TL. Gestational vitamin D intake may prevent several adverse outcomes and might have an influence on offspring telomere length (TL).
Nutrition is important during pregnancy for offspring health.
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