This site uses cookies

Some of these cookies are essential, while others help us to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.

For more detailed information please check our Cookie notice


Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality. This website cannot function properly without these cookies.


Cookies that measure website use

If you provide permission, we will use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on our understanding of user needs. Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about how you got to the site, the pages you visit, how long you spend on each page and what you click on while you’re visiting the site.

Vitamin D insufficiency in children

Author: Michael Absoud
Institution: University of Birmingham
Type of case study: Research

About the research

This study set out to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) in children In Great Britain. Vitamin D functions as a hormone and its importance in the immunomodulatory effects on disease is being increasingly recognised.

The results confirm a previously under-recognised risk of VDI in adolescents. The marked higher risk for VDI in non-white children suggests they should be targeted in any preventative strategies.

Additionally, children whose families received income support were more likely to have VDI. For this reason, government initiatives to tackle social inequalities may have an impact on vitamin D status.

The association of higher risk of VDI among children who exercised less outdoors, watched more TV and were overweight highlights potentially modifiable risk factors. This implies that initiatives to encourage more outdoor activities, particularly in the summer months, may have an impact on vitamin D status. This also suggests that guidelines encouraging safe sunlight exposure may need to be revised.

In conclusion, the authors suggest that clearer guidelines and an increased awareness especially in adolescents are needed, as there are no recommendations for vitamin D supplementation in older children in the UK.

Methodology

Statistical analysis of the data included descriptive statistics (summarising data), univariate regression and binary loglinear regression(methods to create a model to predict an outcome based on a set of variables). In the different models, Vitamin D was used as a continuous variable, and as a binary outcome for insufficiency (,50 nmol/L). The researchers also used chi squared and t-tests to investigate significance of proposed predictors for VDI and vitamin D status respectively.

Publications

The study was published online as Prevalence and Predictors of Vitamin D Insufficiency in Children: A Great Britain Population Based Study.