{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T22:55:35Z","timestamp":1782341735154,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,3,10]],"date-time":"2017-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1489104000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur F\u00f6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy has negative clinical consequences, such as associations with glucose intolerance, and has been shown to be distributed differently in certain ethnic groups. In some countries, a difference in the rate of vitamin D deficiency was detected in pregnant women depending on their skin color. We examined the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (&lt;20 ng\/mL) in women in early pregnancy in Switzerland and evaluated the association of skin color with vitamin D deficiency. In a single-center cohort study, the validated Fitzpatrick scale and objective melanin index were used to determine skin color. Of the 204 pregnant women included, 63% were vitamin D deficient. The mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 26.1 ng\/mL (95% confidence interval (CI) 24.8\u201327.4) in vitamin D\u2013sufficient women and 10.5 ng\/mL (95% CI 9.7\u201311.5) in women with deficiency. In the most parsimonious model, women with dark skin color were statistically significantly more often vitamin D deficient compared to women with light skin color (OR 2.60; 95% CI 1.08\u20136.22; adjusted for age, season, vitamin D supplement use, body mass index, smoking, parity). This calls for more intense counseling as one policy option to improve vitamin D status during pregnancy, i.e., use of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy, in particular for women with darker skin color.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu9030260","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,3,10]],"date-time":"2017-03-10T09:39:55Z","timestamp":1489138795000},"page":"260","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Associations with Skin Color in Pregnant Women in the First Trimester in a Sample from Switzerland"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Aline","family":"Richard","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sabine","family":"Rohrmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katharina","family":"Quack L\u00f6tscher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Obstetrics, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 10, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"798","DOI":"10.1097\/BPO.0b013e31822f1af1","article-title":"Epidemiology of vitamin d deficiency in children presenting to a pediatric orthopaedic service in the uk","volume":"31","author":"Davies","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. 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