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Objective: Eclampsia is a potentially fatal disorder in pregnant women and remains an important cause of maternal and perinatal child morbidity and death worldwide. We aimed to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for convulsions (not occurring from fever) during pregnancy in Indian women. Convulsion is a key symptom suggestive of eclampsia. Methods: Cross-sectional data from India's third National Family Health Survey, conducted during 2005-2006 were used. Self-reported information on convulsions during pregnancy was obtained from 39,657 women aged 15-49 years who had a live birth in the 5 years preceding the survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore risk factors for convulsion inpregnancy. Results: Overall, 1 in 10 women reported having convulsions in their most recent pregnancy. The prevalence was significantly higher in women living in rural areas compared with those living in urban areas (11.3% vs. 7.4%; P<0.0001), with marked state and geographic variation. The odds of convulsions were significantly higher in women with a twin pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45-3.11], a previously terminated pregnancy (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.20-1.45), diabetes (OR 1.37; 95% CI 0.99-1.89), or asthma (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.35-2.54), in women who were alerted to pregnancy complications (OR 2.78; 95% CI 2.50-3.08), in Sikh women (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.28-2.33), in women in a low social group (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.25-1.58), and in women residing in central India (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.31-1.74) or eastern India (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.14-1.54) with reference to their counterparts. Conclusion: Our findings from a large population-based nationally representative sample of Indian women indicate a high prevalence of convulsions, a symptom suggestive of eclampsia, and its association with several maternal, lifestyle risk factors and sociodemographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low birth weight is one of the leading factors for infant morbidity and mortality. To a large extent affect, various maternal risk factors are associated with pregnancy outcomes by increasing odds of delivering an infant with low birth weight. Despite this association, understanding the maternal risk factors affecting term low birth weight has been a challenging task. To date, limited studies have been conducted in India that exert independent magnitude of these effects on term low birth weight. The aim of this review is to examine the current knowledge of maternal risk factors that contribute to term low birth weight in the Indian population. In order to identify the potentially relevant articles, an extensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Goggle Scholar and IndMed databases (1993 - Dec 2020). Our results indicate that maternal age, educational status, socio-economic status, ethnicity, parity, pre-pregnancy weight, maternal stature, maternal body mass index, obstetric history, maternal anaemia, gestational weight gain, short pregnancy outcome, hypertension during pregnancy, infection, antepartum haemorrhage, tobacco consumption, maternal occupation, maternal psychological stress, alcohol consumption, antenatal care and mid-upper arm circumference have all independent effects on term low birth weight in the Indian population. Further, we argue that exploration for various other dimensions of maternal factors and underlying pathways can be useful for a better understanding of how it exerts independent association on term low birth weight in the Indian sub-continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Multiple observational studies have reported an inverse relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (25(OH)D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the results of short- and long-term interventional trials concerning the relationship between 25(OH)D and T2D risk have been inconsistent.Objectives and Methods: To evaluate the causal role of reduced blood 25(OH)D in T2D, here we have performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study using 59,890 individuals (5,862 T2D cases and 54,028 controls) from European and Asian Indian ancestries. We used six known SNPs, including three T2D SNPs and three vitamin D pathway SNPs, as a genetic instrument to evaluate the causality and direction of the association between T2D and circulating 25(OH)D concentration.Results: Results of the combined meta-analysis of eight participating studies showed that a composite score of three T2D SNPs would significantly increase T2D risk by an odds ratio (OR) of 1.24, p = 1.82 × 10-32; Z score 11.86, which, however, had no significant association with 25(OH)D status (Beta -0.02nmol/L ± SE 0.01nmol/L; p = 0.83; Z score -0.21). Likewise, the genetically instrumented composite score of 25(OH)D lowering alleles significantly decreased 25(OH)D concentrations (-2.1nmol/L ± SE 0.1nmol/L, p = 7.92 × 10-78; Z score -18.68) but was not associated with increased risk for T2D (OR 1.00, p = 0.12; Z score 1.54). However, using 25(OH)D synthesis SNP (DHCR7; rs12785878) as an individual genetic instrument, a per allele reduction of 25(OH)D concentration (-4.2nmol/L ± SE 0.3nmol/L) was predicted to increase T2D risk by 5%, p = 0.004; Z score 2.84. This effect, however, was not seen in other 25(OH)D SNPs (GC rs2282679, CYP2R1 rs12794714) when used as an individual instrument.Conclusion: Our new data on this bidirectional Mendelian randomization study suggests that genetically instrumented T2D risk does not cause changes in 25(OH)D levels. However, genetically regulated 25(OH)D deficiency due to vitamin D synthesis gene (DHCR7) may influence the risk of T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]