The impact of vitamin D changes during pregnancy on the development of maternal adverse events: A random forest analysis

Borumandnia, N., Rostami, M., Talebi, A. and Alavimajd, H. (2024) The impact of vitamin D changes during pregnancy on the development of maternal adverse events: A random forest analysis. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 125. (doi: 10.1186/s12884-024-06294-5) (PMID:38341546) (PMCID:PMC10858460)

Abstract

Background: Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has been associated with various maternal adverse events (MAE). However, the evidence regarding the effect of vitamin D supplementation on these outcomes is still inconclusive. Methods: This secondary analysis utilized a case–control design. 403 samples with MAE and 403 samples without any outcomes were selected from the Khuzestan Vitamin D Deficiency Screening Program in Pregnancy study. Random forest (RF) analysis was used to evaluate the effect of maternal vitamin D changes during pregnancy on MAE. Results: The results showed that women who remained deficient (35.2%) or who worsened from sufficient to deficient (30.0%) had more MAE than women who improved (16.4%) or stayed sufficient (11.8%). The RF model had an AUC of 0.74, sensitivity of 72.6%, and specificity of 69%, which indicate a moderate to high performance for predicting MAE. The ranked variables revealed that systolic blood pressure is the most important variable for MAE, followed by diastolic blood pressure and vitamin D changes during pregnancy. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that maternal vitamin D changes during pregnancy have a significant impact on MAE. Our findings suggest that monitoring and treatment of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may be a potential preventive strategy for reducing the risk of MAE. The presented RF model had a moderate to high performance for predicting MAE.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Maternal adverse events, Random forest, Vitamin D
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Talebi, Dr Atefeh and Borumandnia, Dr Nasrin
• Authors: Borumandnia, N., Rostami, M., Talebi, A., and Alavimajd, H.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
• Journal Name: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 1471-2393
• ISSN (Online): 1471-2393
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024
• First Published: First published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 24: 125
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence