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Vitamin D and bone health in early life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2007

Christian Mølgaard  and
Kim Fleischer Michaelsen
Kim Fleischer Michaelsen
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition, LMC Centre for Advanced Food Studies, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Rolighedsvej 30, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
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Abstract

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Prolonged vitamin D deficiency resulting in rickets is seen mainly during rapid growth. A distinct age distribution has been observed in the Copenhagen area where all registered hospital cases of rickets were either infants and toddlers or adolescents from immigrant families. Growth retardation was only present in the infant and toddler group. A state of deficiency occurs months before rickets is obvious on physical examination. Growth failure, lethargy and irritability may be early signs of vitamin D deficiency. Mothers with low vitamin D status give birth to children with low vitamin D status and increased risk of rickets. Reports showing increasing rates of rickets due to insufficient sunlight exposure and inadequate vitamin D intake are cause for serious concern. Many countries (including the USA from 2003) recommend vitamin D supplementation during infancy to avoid rickets resulting from the low vitamin D content of human milk. Without fortification only certain foods such as fatty fish contain more than low amounts of vitamin D, and many children will depend entirely on sun exposure to obtain sufficient vitamin D. The skin has a high capacity to synthesize vitamin D, but if sun exposure is low vitamin D production is insufficient, especially in dark-skinned infants. The use of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D to evaluate vitamin D status before development of rickets would be helpful; however, there is no agreement on cut-off levels for deficiency and insufficiency. Furthermore, it is not known how marginal vitamin D insufficiency affects children's bones in the long term.

Keywords

Vitamin DBoneEarly life
Type
Meeting Report
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 62 , Issue 4 , November 2003 , pp. 823 - 828
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

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