Objective: To evaluate the effect of vitamin D levels on early-onset sepsis (EOS) in term infants.
Study design: Fifty term infants with clinical and laboratory findings of EOS (study group) and 50 healthy infants with no signs of clinical/laboratory infection (control group) were enrolled. Blood was drawn at the time of admission during the first 3 postnatal days of life in both groups for measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels.
Result: Maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels (22.2/8.6 ng ml(-1), respectively) in the study group were significantly lower than those of the control group (36.2/19 ng ml(-1), respectively, P<0.001). A positive correlation was detected between maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels. Severe vitamin D deficiency was significantly more common in the sepsis group.
Conclusion: Lower maternal and neonatal 25-OHD levels are associated with EOS. These data suggest that adequate vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may be helpful to prevent EOS in term neonates.