According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis is the most common bone disease. It affects one in five men and one-third of women over 50 globally. Osteoporosis is caused by holes within the bones widening because of decreased bone density, which means that the bones become prone to fracture. One major risk factor of low bone density is vitamin D deficiency, as it helps the body absorb calcium, which is responsible for strengthening bones. Additionally, peak bone strength in young adulthood predicts osteoporosis risk in later life. Therefore, interventions that improve bone strength from childhood onwards could be crucial in preventing osteoporosis risk later in life. In research published in September 2024 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Moon and colleagues assessed the effects of providing maternal vitamin D supplements to pregnant women. The study found that the children of women who received vitamin D supplements had higher bone mineral density (BMD) compared to the children of women who received placebo.
To observe the effects that maternal vitamin D supplements had on child bone density, this randomised control trial, known as the Maternal Vitamin D Osteoporosis Study, recruited individuals attending ultrasound scanning at 11-14 weeks gestation from the University Hospital Southampton National Health Service Foundation Trust. Blood samples were collected and individuals with vitamin D levels in the normal range (25-hydroxyvitamin D of 25-100 nanomoles per litre) were eligible for enrolment. Participants were randomly assigned to either an oral cholecalciferol vitamin D supplement or placebo from 14-17 weeks gestation until delivery. Children were then followed up at ages six to seven years between 4 April 2013 and 25 October 2018. Bone area, bone mineral content, BMD, and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) were measured using whole-body and lumbar spine dual-energy absorptiometry scans, either focusing on the lumbar spine or whole-body-less-head. A total of 447 children had useable scans. The whole-body-less-head BMD was found to be greater in the vitamin D supplement group compared to the placebo group, with the mean value in the supplement group being 0.596g/cm² compared to 0.586g/cm² in the placebo group. The same trend was observed for the whole-body-less-head BMAD, with the mean value in the supplement group being 0.0193g/cm³ compared to 0.0190g/cm³ in the placebo group. This study shows the importance of vitamin D exposure on bone density and suggests that the effects of maternal vitamin D exposure can carry into childhood. Therefore, providing vitamin D supplements to pregnant individuals could improve bone health in children and reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. However, more research is needed to assess the long-term effects of supplementation. Leading data and analytics company GlobalData‘s epidemiologists forecast that the diagnosed prevalent cases of osteoporosis in men and women 18 and younger in the 16 major markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea) will decrease from 5,700,000 cases in 2024 to 5,000,000 cases in 2033.
