This aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between risk of childhood type 1 diabetes and maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels during pregnancy. A literature search on databases including PubMed and Embase was conducted up to December 2018. The pooled odds radio weighted mean difference (WMD) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the RevMan 5.3 software. A total of 4 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The overall analysis indicated that the maternal 25(OH)D levels during pregnancy was significantly associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring (WMD=-2.54, 95% CI=-4.65 to -0.44, p=0.02). The subgroup analyses showed that sample for detection vitamin D (serum/plasma) may not a factor influencing the results of this meta-analysis. However, gestational trimester may be a factor affecting the results. The results showed that no significant association was observed between risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring and 25(OH)D level during first or second gestational trimester (p>0.05). Lower maternal 25(OH)D levels during pregnancy is associated with higher risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring. Gestational trimester may be a factor influencing the results of this meta-analysis.
Keywords: association exploration; childhood glycometabolism; factor analysis; gestational trimester; maternal vitamin D level.