Association Between Vitamin D Levels and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Introduction Hypertension is a relatively common complication during pregnancy, and preeclampsia represents an important subset of these cases. It is linked to severe complications and adverse outcomes for both mother and baby. Vitamin D, crucial for bone metabolism and immune function, may impact placental function and preeclampsia risk. In Asia, including India, vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among pregnant women, raising questions about its role in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nuh, Haryana, India, involving 300 pregnant women divided into hypertensive cases (150) and normotensive controls (150). Cases were further categorized into preeclampsia without severe features, preeclampsia with severe features, and the eclampsia group. Vitamin D levels were measured using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The study found significant differences in mean vitamin D levels among the groups (p = 0.0001). Eclampsia had the lowest mean vitamin D level (8.73 ± 5.10 ng/mL), followed by preeclampsia with severe features (12.54 ± 7.12 ng/mL) and preeclampsia without severe features (13.70 ± 10.86 ng/mL), with controls having the highest level (21.41 ± 5.98 ng/mL). A significant negative correlation (r = -0.6159, p < 0.0001) was observed between the severity of hypertensive disorders and vitamin D levels. Conclusion Lower vitamin D levels are significantly associated with increased severity of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The findings suggest a potential role for vitamin D in mitigating these complications. Regular monitoring and potential supplementation may improve maternal and fetal outcomes. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D interventions.