Cord blood vitamin D is correlated with problem solving domain in early childhood neurodevelopment: A Cohort Study on Vitamin D Status and Its Impact during Pregnancy and Childhood in Indonesia

Abstract Fetal vitamin D level is known to influence brain development and subsequent postnatal neurodevelopment, although several studies stated that this correlation remains controversial. We aimed to determine the correlation between cord blood vitamin D level and neurodevelopmental status in the first 1000 days of life. This was a cohort study, located in Sukabumi and Waled districts of West Java, Indonesia, from 2016–2019. Subjects were term infants with no congenital abnormalities, born from pregnant women involved in a previously conducted cohort study. The cord blood sample collected at delivery was used to measure 25 (OH)-vitamin D level. Neurodevelopmental status was examined after the infants reached 6, 12, and 24 months of age using Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3). Statistical analysis was performed using rank Spearman’s correlation. Blood samples were collected from 116 subjects. The mean value of vitamin D levels was 16.2 ng/mL (8.0–35.4 ng/mL). As many as 12.9%, 65.5% and 21.6% of newborns had vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and normal vitamin D levels. The correlation was found between cordblood vitamin D levels and the problem-solving domain at the age of 12 and 24 months old; r = 0.217, and r = 0.414 respectively. Multiple linier regression analysis result showed a decrease problem solving domain score of 0.641 was associated with decreased of vitamin D. Cordblood vitamin D level correlates with infant neurodevelopmental status. Screening of vitamin D level is crucial during pregnancy and early childhood to improve neurodevelopmental outcome.