Maternal serum retinol and β-carotene concentrations and neonatal bone mineralization: results from the Southampton Women’s Survey cohort

Abstract

Background: Studies in older adults and animals have suggested contrasting relations between bone health and different vitamin A compounds. To our knowledge, the associations between maternal vitamin A status and offspring bone development have not previously been elucidated.Objective: We examined the associations between maternal serum retinol and β-carotene concentrations during late pregnancy and offspring bone mineralization assessed at birth with the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.Design: In the Southampton Women’s Survey mother-offspring birth cohort, maternal health, lifestyle, and diet were assessed prepregnancy and at 11 and 34 wk of gestation. In late pregnancy, maternal serum retinol and β-carotene concentrations were measured. Offspring total body bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and bone area (BA) were measured within 2 wk after birth.Results: In total, 520 and 446 mother-offspring pairs had measurements of maternal serum retinol and β-carotene, respectively. Higher maternal serum retinol in late pregnancy was associated with lower offspring total body BMC (β = −0.10 SD/SD; 95% CI: −0.19, −0.02; P = 0.020) and BA (β = −0.12 SD/SD; 95% CI: −0.20, −0.03; P = 0.009) but not BMD. Conversely, higher maternal serum β-carotene concentrations in late pregnancy were associated with greater total body BMC (β = 0.12 SD/SD; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.21; P = 0.016) and BA (β = 0.12 SD/SD; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.22; P = 0.010) but not BMD.Conclusions: Maternal serum retinol and β-carotene concentrations had differing associations with offspring bone size and growth at birth: retinol was negatively associated with these measurements, whereas β-carotene was positively associated. These findings highlight the need for further investigation of the effects of maternal retinol and carotenoid status on offspring bone development.

Nutrients, Diet, and Other Factors in Prenatal Life and Bone Health in Young Adults: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

“…In context with previous published observational evidence [7,8,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], mother-offspring cohorts have suggested that factors such as maternal diet, lifestyle, physical activity, hormones, and vitamin D status during pregnancy were all associated with bone development in the offspring at birth, before puberty, or during adolescence, which may support the findings of this review.…”

Studies of indirect and direct effects of hypervitaminosis A on rat bone by comparing free access to food and pair-feeding

“…Instead, the major direct short-term effect of a high vitamin A intake in young rats is a reduction in bone diameter. In this context we find it interesting that higher maternal serum retinol levels in late pregnancy was recently shown to be associated with lower offspring total body BMC and bone area, but not BMD ( 21 ).…”

Vitamin A Requirements in Pregnancy and Lactation

“…Higher prepregnancy VA intake was also associated with lessened effects of pollutant exposure on birth length, compared with lower VA intake (β = −0.3 compared with −1.1, respectively) ( 122 ). A 2016 cohort study discovered that serum retinol concentration was negatively associated with child weight, bone mineral content, and bone area at birth ( 139 ).…”

“…In human trials, maternal β-carotene intakes were correlated with maternal plasma concentrations in early pregnancy, at delivery, and with cord blood β-carotene concentrations ( 41 ), as well as in cord blood ( 213 ). In a 2016 cohort study that investigated offspring bone mineral content and bone area, maternal β-carotene concentrations were inversely related to neonatal bone mineralization, in spite of direct association of maternal serum retinol with the outcome ( 139 ). In a 2005 investigation of antenatal dietary intake of antioxidant vitamins on maternal and cord plasma concentrations, plasma concentrations of VA at birth were slightly lower in cord blood than in mothers, and the association lost significance after adjusting for energy.…”