{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,24]],"date-time":"2026-10-24T01:47:12Z","timestamp":1792806432352,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,27]],"date-time":"2023-02-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1677456000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008903","name":"Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOHW107-HPA-H-124-133204"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOHW107-HPA-H-124-133204"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008903","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Collaborative Research Project of College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan","award":["MOHW107-HPA-H-124-133204"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOHW107-HPA-H-124-133204"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05031qk94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is a global micronutrient issue that commonly occurs in pregnant women, leading to adverse health outcomes. We examined the role of sunlight-related factors and dietary vitamin D intake on vitamin D concentrations among pregnant women in different climate zones. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Taiwan between June 2017 and February 2019. The data of 1502 pregnant women were collected, including sociodemographic information and characteristics related to pregnancy, diet, and sun exposure. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were measured, and VDD was assessed as a concentration of less than 20 ng\/mL. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore the factors associated with VDD. Furthermore, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to analyze the contribution of sunlight-related factors and dietary vitamin D intake to vitamin D status stratified by climate zones. Results: The prevalence of VDD was 30.1% and was the highest in the north. Sufficient intake of red meat (odds ratio (OR): 0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32\u20130.75; p = 0.002), vitamin D and\/or calcium supplements (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.39\u20130.66; p &lt; 0.001), sun exposure (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57\u20130.98; p = 0.034), and blood draw during sunny months (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.46\u20130.77; p &lt; 0.001) were associated with a lower likelihood of VDD. Additionally, in northern Taiwan, which is characterized by a subtropical climate, dietary vitamin D intake (AUROC: 0.580, 95% CI: 0.528\u20130.633) had a greater influence on vitamin D status than did sunlight-related factors (AUROC: 0.536, 95% CI: 0.508\u20130.589) with a z value = 51.98, p &lt; 0.001. By contrast, sunlight-related factors (AUROC: 0.659, 95% CI: 0.618\u20130.700) were more important than dietary vitamin D intake (AUROC: 0.617, 95% CI, 0.575\u20130.660) among women living in tropical areas of Taiwan (z value = 54.02, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Dietary vitamin D intake was essential to alleviate VDD in the tropical region, whereas sunlight-related factors played a greater role in subtropical areas. Safe sunlight exposure and adequate dietary vitamin D intake should be promoted appropriately as a strategic healthcare program.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15051182","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,27]],"date-time":"2023-02-27T02:10:46Z","timestamp":1677463846000},"page":"1182","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Effects of Climate, Sun Exposure, and Dietary Intake on Vitamin D Concentrations in Pregnant Women: A Population-Based Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Ya-Li","family":"Huang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8935-8273","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thu T. M.","family":"Pham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hai Phong 042-12, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6930-1712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi-Chun","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8608-9349","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jung-Su","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Chinese Taipei Society for the Study of Obesity, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3610-9580","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jane C.-J.","family":"Chao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Master Program in Global Health and Development, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4658-1088","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chyi-Huey","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"},{"name":"Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110-31, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"290","DOI":"10.1017\/S0029665121001944","article-title":"Iron, iodine and vitamin D deficiencies during pregnancy: Epidemiology, risk factors and developmental impacts","volume":"80","author":"Kiely","year":"2021","journal-title":"Proc. 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