Prenatal High-Dose Vitamin D Doesn't Reduce Asthma Risk in Offspring

By the Editors

High-dose vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy does not lower the risk for asthma or recurrent wheeze in offspring, according to longer-term follow-up of a previously reported study. The findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Over 800 pregnant women who had a history of asthma, eczema, or allergic rhinitis (or whose partners did so) were randomized to receive either 4400 IU or 400 IU vitamin D₃ daily until delivery (with the lower dose serving as the control). When the offspring were 6 years old, there was no difference between the groups in the risk for asthma or recurrent wheeze.

Dr. David Amrol weighs in on these findings in NEJM Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. See the first link below.