Agreement of Blood Spot Card Measurements of Vitamin D Levels with Serum, Whole Blood Specimen Types and a Dietary Recall Instrument

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2011 Feb 10

PMID 21304997

Citations 17

Authors

Emma K Larkin

Tebeb Gebretsadik

Nathan Koestner

Mark S Newman

Zhouwen Liu

Kecia N Carroll

Patricia Minton

Kim Woodward

Tina V Hartert

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The ability to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels from blood spot cards can simplify sample collection versus samples obtained by venipuncture, particularly in populations in whom it is difficult to draw blood. We sought to validate the use of blood spot samples for the measurement of 25OHD compared to serum or whole blood samples and correlate the measured levels with intake estimated from dietary recall.

Methods: Utilizing 109 biological mothers of infants enrolled in the Tennessee Children's Respiratory Initiative cohort, we measured 25OHD levels through highly selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry on samples from blood spot cards, serum, and whole blood collected at enrollment. Dietary questionnaires (n = 65) were used to assess 25OHD intake by dietary recall. Sample collection measures were assessed for agreement and 25OHD levels for association with dietary 25OHD intake.

Results: The mean absolute differences (95%CI) in 25OHD levels measured between whole blood and blood spot (n = 50 pairs) or serum and blood spot (n = 20) were 3.2 (95%CI:1.6, 4.8) ng/ml and 1.5 (95%CI:-0.5,3.4) ng/mL. Intake by dietary recall was marginally associated with 25OHD levels after adjustment for current smoking and race in linear regression.

Discussion: 25OHD levels determined by mass spectrometry from blood spot cards, serum and whole blood show relatively good agreement, although 25OHD levels are slightly lower when measured by blood spot cards. Blood spot samples are a less invasive means of obtaining 25OHD measurements, particularly in large population-based samples, or among children when venipuncture may decrease study participation.

Citing Articles

Vitamin D status in Norwegian children and associations between child vitamin D status, dietary factors, and maternal vitamin D status.

Kristiansen A, Myhre J, Oyri L, Holven K, Andersen L Food Nutr Res. 2025; 69.

PMID: 39974838 PMC: 11836780. DOI: 10.29219/fnr.v69.10727.

Telehealth Movement-to-Music With Arm-Based Sprint-Intensity Interval Training to Improve Cardiometabolic Health and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Lai B, Oster R, Davis D, Bright L, Fisher G, Wilroy J JMIR Res Protoc. 2024; 13:e56499.

PMID: 38441939 PMC: 10951837. DOI: 10.2196/56499.

Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling in the Analysis of Endogenous Metabolites.

De Sa E Silva D, Thaitumu M, Theodoridis G, Witting M, Gika H Metabolites. 2023; 13(10).

PMID: 37887363 PMC: 10609074. DOI: 10.3390/metabo13101038.

The Effects of Virtual Reality Tele-exergaming on Cardiometabolic Indicators of Health Among Youth With Cerebral Palsy: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Lai B, Davis D, Young R, Kimani-Swanson E, Wozow C, Wen H JMIR Res Protoc. 2022; 11(8):e40708.

PMID: 35976192 PMC: 9434386. DOI: 10.2196/40708.

Preconception vitamin D and miscarriage in a prospective cohort study.

Subramanian A, Steiner A, Weinberg C, Doss G, Jukic A Hum Reprod. 2022; 37(10):2465-2473.

PMID: 35834313 PMC: 9527460. DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deac155.

References

Brehm J, Schuemann B, Fuhlbrigge A, Hollis B, Strunk R, Zeiger R . Serum vitamin D levels and severe asthma exacerbations in the Childhood Asthma Management Program study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010; 126(1):52-8.e5. PMC: 2902692. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.03.043. View

Ginde A, Mansbach J, Camargo Jr C . Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and upper respiratory tract infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Arch Intern Med. 2009; 169(4):384-90. PMC: 3447082. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.560. View

Singh R . Quantitation of 25-OH-vitamin D (25OHD) using liquid tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Methods Mol Biol. 2010; 603:509-17. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60761-459-3_50. View

Block G, Hartman A, Naughton D . A reduced dietary questionnaire: development and validation. Epidemiology. 1990; 1(1):58-64. DOI: 10.1097/00001648-199001000-00013. View

Souberbielle J, Friedlander G, Kahan A, Cormier C . Evaluating vitamin D status. Implications for preventing and managing osteoporosis and other chronic diseases. Joint Bone Spine. 2006; 73(3):249-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2006.01.003. View

Holick M . Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007; 357(3):266-81. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra070553. View

Carter G, Carter R, Jones J, Berry J . How accurate are assays for 25-hydroxyvitamin D? Data from the international vitamin D external quality assessment scheme. Clin Chem. 2004; 50(11):2195-7. DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2004.040683. View

Roth H, Schmidt-Gayk H, Weber H, Niederau C . Accuracy and clinical implications of seven 25-hydroxyvitamin D methods compared with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry as a reference. Ann Clin Biochem. 2008; 45(Pt 2):153-9. DOI: 10.1258/acb.2007.007091. View

Kim D, Sabour S, Sagar U, Adams S, Whellan D . Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in cardiovascular diseases (from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001 to 2004). Am J Cardiol. 2008; 102(11):1540-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.06.067. View

10.

Lai J, Lucas R, Clements M, Harrison S, Banks E . Assessing vitamin D status: pitfalls for the unwary. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010; 54(8):1062-71. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.200900468. View

11.

BELSEY R, DeLuca H, Potts Jr J . Competitive binding assay for vitamin D and 25-OH vitamin D. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1971; 33(3):554-7. DOI: 10.1210/jcem-33-3-554. View

12.

Leino A, Turpeinen U, Koskinen P . Automated measurement of 25-OH vitamin D3 on the Roche Modular E170 analyzer. Clin Chem. 2008; 54(12):2059-62. DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2008.111732. View

13.

Trump D, Deeb K, Johnson C . Vitamin D: considerations in the continued development as an agent for cancer prevention and therapy. Cancer J. 2010; 16(1):1-9. PMC: 2857702. DOI: 10.1097/PPO.0b013e3181c51ee6. View

14.

Terry A, Sandrock T, Meikle A . Measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D by the Nichols ADVANTAGE, DiaSorin LIAISON, DiaSorin RIA, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Clin Chem. 2005; 51(8):1565-6. DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2005.054239. View

15.

Brehm J, Celedon J, Soto-Quiros M, Avila L, Hunninghake G, Forno E . Serum vitamin D levels and markers of severity of childhood asthma in Costa Rica. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009; 179(9):765-71. PMC: 2675563. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.200808-1361OC. View

16.

Eyles D, Morley R, Anderson C, Ko P, Burne T, Permezel M . The utility of neonatal dried blood spots for the assessment of neonatal vitamin D status. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2010; 24(3):303-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01105.x. View

17.

Roth H, Zahn I, Alkier R, Schmidt H . Validation of the first automated chemiluminescence protein-binding assay for the detection of 25-hydroxycalciferol. Clin Lab. 2001; 47(7-8):357-65. View

18.

Hollis B . Editorial: The determination of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D: no easy task. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004; 89(7):3149-51. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2004-0682. View

19.

Armas L, Hollis B, Heaney R . Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004; 89(11):5387-91. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2004-0360. View

20.

Eyles D, Anderson C, Ko P, Jones A, Thomas A, Burne T . A sensitive LC/MS/MS assay of 25OH vitamin D3 and 25OH vitamin D2 in dried blood spots. Clin Chim Acta. 2009; 403(1-2):145-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2009.02.005. View