Association between serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and obesity in one‐year‐old Chinese infants

Abstract

Recent studies suggested that vitamin D is linked with obesity, but evidence in infants is scarce. Therefore, we aimed to make an exploration in infants. A total of 414 infants at one year old who visited Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital of Wuxi in China were recruited. Finger‐stick blood sampling was conducted in all the subjects, and serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations were measured. Maternal characteristics during pregnancy and infantile information were collected by questionnaires or extracting from medical records. Multivariable linear models were performed to assess the relationship between 25(OH)D and body mass index (BMI), while multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between 25(OH)D and obesity. Among the 414 infants, 69 (16.67%) and 81 (19.57%) infants were defined as obesity and vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L], respectively. The mean (SD) of 25(OH)D concentration was 68.05 (19.05) in infants without obesity, which was significantly higher than that of obese infants [60.36(18.49), p = .002]. Inverse linear relationships were observed between 25(OH)D level and BMI (β = −0.017, p = .004) as well as BMI Z‐score (β = −0.010, p = .004). Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency was associated with an increased risk of obesity of infants (adjusted odds ratio = 2.74, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–6.25, with 25(OH)D ≥ 75 nmol/L as a reference). The results showed that serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly lower in infants with obesity, suggesting vitamin D deficiency may be an independent risk factor for obesity among one‐year‐old Chinese infants.

Association between Suboptimal 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Status and Overweight/Obesity in Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study in China

“…One cross-sectional study carried out in 2021 also found the same relationship, where the increased risk of infancy overweight/obesity was attributed to VitD deficiency; inverse linear relationships were observed between 25(OH)D level and body mass index as well as BMI z-score in one-year-old infants [35]. In this study, they found that infants with a deficient VitD status had a 2.74-fold increased risk for obesity [41]. Although there has been limited research on the impact of VitD on infant overweight/obesity, these findings are promising and warrant more investigation, such as extending the follow-up period or developing multicenter trials across cities.…”

“…In our study, the suboptimal 25(OH)D level of <35 ng/mL for infants at 6 months significantly increased the risk for overweight/obesity at 12 months. There is considerable evidence that school-aged children and adolescents with a 25(OH)D level <20 ng/mL are susceptible to overweight/obesity [19,41,43]. Esmaili et al pointed out that a higher level of 25(OH)D of 30 ng/mL was a risky inflection point [18].…”