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Background:Vitamin D which is involved in the maintenance of bone mineral homeostasis has been found to portray various pleiotropic effects. Although it has been widely accepted that serum 25-hydroxy Vitamin D level above 30 ng/ml is considered optimal for the biological actions of Vitamin D, there is a need to explore the levels of Vitamin D reported among Indians from various regions of the country. Hence, this systematic review aims to appraise the status of Vitamin D levels reported from apparently healthy Indians across various parts of India.Methodology:A comprehensive literature search was carried out to identify the range of Vitamin D levels among apparently healthy individuals from various parts of India, with the search term “Vitamin D and India” in the search portals of PubMed, Google Scholar, Indmed, and ScienceDirect. A total of 2998 articles were retrieved by the above search strategy, of which only forty studies fulfilled the criteria to be included in the systematic review. Studies done in various states were compiled under the respective zones based on the classification of Indian zones as specified in Zonal maps of India.Results:The level of Vitamin D from all the forty included studies ranged from 3.15 ± 1.4 to 52.9 ± 33.7 ng/ml. The effect size of Vitamin D level was higher in the South Zone compared to other zones.Conclusion:The present study shows that Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among apparently healthy Indians living in different regions of India, irrespective of their exposure to sunlight.

Polycystic ovary syndrome affects 6 to 15% of reproductive age women worldwide. It is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm delivery, and birth of small for gestational age infant. Many studies on issues relating to pathophysiology and management of these complications have been published recently. These issues are being reviewed here using relevant articles retrieved from Pubmed database, especially from those published in recent past.

Objective:The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal anthropometry and metabolic parameters on neonatal anthropometry.Materials and Methods:This observational cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2008 to June 2009 at a single tertiary care center. Maternal anthropometry and metabolic parameters like fasting serum insulin, lipid profile, and random blood glucose were estimated in 50 pregnant women at term. Detailed anthropometry of the neonates was performed.Results:Large for gestational age (LGA) babies had higher maternal body mass index (BMI), fasting serum insulin, and cord blood insulin levels, and lower maternal high density lipoprotein (HDL) compared to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) group (P < 0.001). Among the maternal parameters, BMI, gestational age, fasting serum insulin, and random blood sugar (RBS) had significant positive correlation, while HDL had negative correlation with birth weight (P < 0.05). However, only maternal BMI was the significant predictor of neonatal birth weight on multiple regression analysis (ß = 0.340, P = 0.01).Conclusion:The BMI of glucose-tolerant mother is more important than metabolic parameters in determining the birth weight of term babies.