Effect of Low Dietary Vitamin D Fed Prior to and During Pregnancy and Lactation on Maternal Bone Mineral Density, Structure, and Strength in C57BL/6 Mice

Several studies have shown that diets containing lower vitamin D than in the AIN-93G diet do not compromise bone structure, bone mineral density (BMD), and/or bone strength in male and female mice. This study determined if a diet containing low vitamin D from prepregnancy through to the end of lactation maintained these bone outcomes to a similar extent as a high vitamin D diet. Mice were fed an AIN-93G diet with 25 (LD diet) or 5000 (HD diet) IU vitamin D/kg diet from premating through to lactation (n = 15/group). Of the major structure outcomes, only cortical area fraction of the distal femur was lower (P <0.05) with the LD diet. Lumbar vertebra BMD was lower (P <0.05) with LD whereas distal femur BMD and bone strength at 3 sites did not differ. Dams fed an LD diet premating through to the end of lactation had largely similar bone outcomes to dams fed a HD diet.