Maternal Vitamin D, Folate, and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status and Bacterial Vaginosis during Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE To investigate associations among serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D), folate, omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio and bacterial vaginosis (BV) during pregnancy. METHODS Biospecimens and data were derived from a random sample (N = 160) of women from the Nashville Birth Cohort. We compared mean plasma nutrient concentrations for women with and without BV during pregnancy (based on Nugent score ≥7) and assessed the odds of BV for those with 25-OH-D <12 ng/mL, folate <5 ug/L, and omega-6/omega-3 ratio >15. RESULTS The mean plasma 25-OH-D was significantly lower among women with BV during pregnancy (18.00±8.14 ng/mL versus 24.34±11.97 ng/mL, P = 0.044). The adjusted odds of BV were significantly increased among pregnant women with 25-OH-D <12 ng/mL (aOR 5.11, 95% CI: 1.19-21.97) and folate <5 ug/L (aOR 7.06, 95% CI: 1.07-54.05). CONCLUSION Vitamin D and folate deficiencies were strongly associated with BV (Nugent score ≥7) during pregnancy.