Effect of vitamin A on the relationship between maternal thyroid hormones in early pregnancy and fetal growth: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Fetal growth patterns are influenced by maternal thyroid function and vitamin A level during pregnancy. Vitamin A presents interactions with thyroid tissues and hormonal systems. We examined whether vitamin A status modified the associations of maternal thyroid hormones in early pregnancy and fetal growth outcomes among euthyroid pregnant women in a prospective cohort study (n = 637). METHODS: We performed multiple linear regression and multinomial logistic regression analysis to investigate the effects of thyroid hormones in early pregnancy on fetal growth according to different levels of serum vitamin A based on median value. RESULTS: A 1 pmol/L increase in maternal free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels was associated with an increased birth weight of 0.080 kg (p = 0.023) in women with lower maternal vitamin A levels in early pregnancy. Increased maternal free thyroxine (FT4) was associated with decreased odds for both small size for gestational age (SGA) [odds ratios (OR) = 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45–0.95] and large size for gestational age (LGA) (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45–0.98) in women with higher vitamin A level in early pregnancy after adjustment for maternal prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, maternal employed, parity, gestational week at sampling, and gestational diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese pregnant women without overt thyroid dysfunction, maternal FT4 in early pregnancy was positively associated with optimal fetal growth among women with higher serum vitamin A concentrations.