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Relationship between vitamin D deficiency and neonatal hypocalcemia: a meta-analysis

  • Ruihan Li , Aojing Han , Qilin Hu and Wei Liang EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 28, 2023

Abstract

We aimed to explore the associations of neonatal hypocalcemia with neonatal vitamin D deficiency and maternal vitamin D deficiency. A comprehensive systematic literature search using PubMed and web of science was performed for relevant articles from inception to February 17th, 2023. We used odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) as effect sizes for our meta-analysis. Publication bias was evaluated using funnel plot, Begg’s test, and Egger regression test. All the statistical analyses were performed using Stata 14.0. A total of 11 studies were included and analyzed, including 452 newborns with hypocalcemia and 2,599 newborns with normal serum calcium level. Our research results revealed that vitamin D deficiency in newborns may be related to the higher prevalence of hypocalcemia (OR: 2.87, 95 % CI: 1.17–7.04). In addition, maternal vitamin D deficiency might also be a risk factor for neonatal hypocalcemia (OR: 7.83, 95 % CI: 3.62–16.92). There was a significant correlation between vitamin D deficiency and neonatal hypocalcemia.This meta-analysis indicates that newborns with vitamin D deficiency have a higher risk of hypocalcemia, and maternal vitamin D level play a crucial role in this association. Vitamin D supplementation may have a positive effect in reducing the prevalence of neonatal hypocalcemia.


Corresponding author: Wei Liang, School of Public Health, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, P.R. China, Phone: +86 18136791029, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Hou Dong from Zhenjiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the help with grammar.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  4. Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  5. Research funding: None declared.

  6. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2023-0183).


Received: 2023-04-25
Accepted: 2023-08-15
Published Online: 2023-08-28
Published in Print: 2023-10-26

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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