Clinical and Laboratory ObservationHigher Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Mothers of Rachitic Than Nonrachitic Children
Section snippets
Methods
Thirty-eight Arab children referred to the Pediatric Clinics of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University's 2 teaching hospitals in the Al Ain Medical District (AMD) and diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency rickets between January 1999 and January 2002 were included in this study. The AMD has a population of 300,000.
Each child was assessed by at least one of the authors, and a questionnaire on demographic, social and dietary characteristics was completed by interviewing the mother. Usual dress
Results
The sex distributions, median age at study, and body surface exposure while outdoors were similar among the children. However, compared with controls, rachitic children had more prolonged breast-feeding (P < .004), less exposure to sunshine (P < .001), and lower rates of vitamin D supplementation (P < .001) (Table I).
Serum 25-OHD concentrations were significantly lower in rachitic children and their mothers than in controls (P < .001). Vitamin D deficiency was present in over 90% of rachitic
Discussion
Thirty-eight cases of rickets in almost 3 years in a population of 300,000 suggest that vitamin D deficiency rickets is common in this as in other Arab communities.1, 3 We assume that the numbers are much higher because some pediatricians treated rachitic children without referral for this study. Excluding these cases, our rate remains higher than in Western countries.10
Compared with controls, rachitic children have higher risk factors for vitamin D deficiency such as less sunshine exposure and
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Cited by (79)
Vitamin D deficiency and nutritional rickets in infants and children
2023, Feldman and Pike's Vitamin D: Volume Two: Disease and TherapeuticsThe influence of maternal vitamin D supplementation on infant vitamin D status: A systematic review and meta-analyses
2020, Complementary Therapies in MedicineCitation Excerpt :Fortuitously, a number of studies have resulted in a number of important observations and postulations that potentially disentangle the relationship among maternal vitamin D status, the vitamin D concentration of milk produced by lactating mothers and the vitamin D status of the exclusively breastfed infants. First, maternal vitamin D status was found to be related to the vitamin D status of the unsupplemented nursing infant.41 It has also been suggested that maternal vitamin D deficiency during lactation may decrease vitamin D concentration in human breast milk12; and in turn, very low milk vitamin D can contribute to the vitamin D deficiency in the breastfed infants.34,42
Vitamin D
2020, Present Knowledge in Nutrition: Basic Nutrition and MetabolismVitamin D insufficiency: Definition, diagnosis and management
2018, Best Practice and Research: Clinical Endocrinology and MetabolismVitamin D and calcium in the human breast milk
2018, Best Practice and Research: Clinical Endocrinology and MetabolismCitation Excerpt :However, human breast milk contains little vitamin D (approximately 20 IU per liter), and women who are vitamin D–deficient provide even less to their breastfed infants [1–3]. There are increasing reports of vitamin D deficiency among breast-fed infants who lack adequate sunlight exposure and do not receive vitamin D supplementation [3–6]. The milk of healthy lactating women contains relatively small amounts of vitamin D and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D).
Supported by a grant from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University (NP/99/18).