Farhan Raza Khan, Tashfeen Ahmad, Rabia Hussain, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta.
Relationship among Hypovitaminosis D, Maternal Periodontal Disease, and Low Birth Weight.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;28(1):36-9.

Objective: To determine if low birth weight is associated with hypovitaminosis D and periodontal disease among a sample of Pakistani women residing in district Jhelum, Punjab. Study Design: Cross-sectional study nested in a large community-based longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Tehsil Pind Dadan Khan, District Jhelum, Pakistan from August 2012 to October 2015. Methodology: Women during 12-16th week of pregnancy were selected. Dental examination was performed. Probing depth >3 mm was labeled as periodontal disease, whereas serum level <20.0 ng/mL was taken as hypovitaminosis D. Mothers of low birth weight babies (<2500 g) were compared to mothers who gave birth to normal weight (>2500 g) babies. Odds ratio was applied to measure the strength of association of low birth weight with maternal hypovitaminosis D and also for maternal periodontal disease. Results: There were 62 participants in the study. The mean age of mothers was 26.7 ±4.5 years. It was alarming to observe that 53 (85%) participants had vitamin D deficiency. However, periodontal disease was only seen in four participants (6%). Out of the 62 mothers, eighteen (29%) gave birth to low birth weight babies. None of the variables were found to be associated with the low birth weight. Conclusion: The present study did not find any significant association of low birth weight with hypovitaminosis D or maternal periodontal disease in the studied sample.

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