scholarly journals Vitamin D deficiency in early childhood: prevalent in the sunny South Pacific

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1893-1901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron C Grant ◽  
Clare R Wall ◽  
Sue Crengle ◽  
Robert Scragg

AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in young urban children in Auckland, New Zealand, where there is no routine vitamin D supplementation.DesignA random sample of urban children. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <27·5 nmol/l (<11 ng/ml). Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios and, from these, relative risks (RR) and 95 % confidence intervals were estimated.SettingAuckland, New Zealand (36°52′S), where the daily vitamin D production by solar irradiation varies between summer and winter at least 10-fold.SubjectsChildren aged 6 to 23 months enrolled from 1999 to 2002.ResultsVitamin D deficiency was present in forty-six of 353 (10 %; 95 % CI 7, 13 %). In a multivariate model there was an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency associated with measurement in winter or spring (RR = 7·24, 95 % CI 1·55, 23·58), Pacific ethnicity (RR = 7·60, 95 % CI 1·80, 20·11), not receiving any infant or follow-on formula (RR = 5·69, 95 % CI 2·66, 10·16), not currently receiving vitamin supplements (RR = 5·32, 95 % CI 2·04, 11·85) and living in a more crowded household (RR = 2·36, 95 % CI 1·04, 4·88).ConclusionsVitamin D deficiency is prevalent in early childhood in New Zealand. Prevalence varies with season and ethnicity. Dietary factors are important determinants of vitamin D status in this age group. Vitamin D supplementation should be considered as part of New Zealand’s child health policy.

Author(s):  
Matthew F Warren ◽  
Kimberly A Livingston

Abstract The risk of vitamin D insufficiency in humans is a global problem that requires improving ways to increase vitamin D intake. Supplements are a primary means for increasing vitamin D intake, but without a clear consensus on what constitutes vitamin D sufficiency, there is toxicity risk with taking supplements. Chickens have been used in many vitamin D-related research studies, especially studies involving vitamin D supplementation. Our state-of-the-art review evaluates vitamin D metabolism and how the different hydroxylated forms are synthesized. We provide an overview with how vitamin D is absorbed, transported, excreted, and what tissues in the body store vitamin D metabolites. We also discuss a number of studies involving vitamin D supplementation with broilers and laying hens. Vitamin D deficiency and toxicity are also described and how they can be caused. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is important for vitamin D metabolism. However, there is much more that can be understood with VDR in chickens. Potential research aims involving vitamin D and chickens should explore VDR mechanisms which could lead to newer insights with VDR. Utilizing chickens in future research to help with elucidating vitamin D mechanisms has great potential to advance human nutrition. Finding ways to increase vitamin D intake will be necessary because the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic is leading to increased risk of vitamin D deficiency in many populations. Chickens can provide a dual purpose with addressing pandemic-caused vitamin D deficiency: 1) vitamin D supplementation gives chickens added value with possibly leading to vitamin D-enriched meat and egg products; and 2) chickens’ use in research provides data for translational research. Expanding vitamin D-related research in chickens to include more nutritional aims in vitamin D status has great implications with developing better strategies to improve human health.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 117 (10) ◽  
pp. 2800-2806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd S. Perlstein ◽  
Reena Pande ◽  
Nancy Berliner ◽  
Gary J. Vanasse

AbstractAnemia and vitamin D deficiency are conditions that both result in significant morbidity and increase with age. The potential relationship between them remains poorly understood, particularly in the elderly. We used the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the association of vitamin D deficiency with anemia subtypes in persons aged ≥ 60 years. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum levels < 20 ng/mL, and anemia was defined according to World Health Organization criteria. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with anemia prevalence independent of age, sex, or race/ethnicity (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.05; P = .02) and varied significantly by anemia subtype (P overall = .003). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 33.3% in the nonanemic population, 56% in anemia of inflammation (AI; P = .008), and 33.0% in unexplained anemia (P = .55). Non-Hispanic blacks had a 7-fold increased risk of AI compared with whites, and this was partially attenuated after adjusting for vitamin D deficiency. These data show that vitamin D deficiency is associated with specific subtypes of anemia in the elderly, especially in those with AI. Vitamin D may suppress inflammatory pathways, and studies to determine whether vitamin D supplementation ameliorates AI are warranted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Aashima Dabas ◽  
T. Aravind ◽  
Sangeeta Yadav ◽  
Mukta Mantan ◽  
Smita Kaushik

Objectives: Obesity has been mentioned as a high risk factor for Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) requiring supplementation in Indian children. Material and Methods: Forty obese and age-matched non-obese subjects (age 5–18 years) were assessed for lifestyle parameters, metabolic profile, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD). VDD was defined as serum 25OHD < 12 ng/mL. Results: Mean 25OHD was comparable among obese and controls (15.0 ± 9.95 and 15.1 ± 4.79 ng/mL; P = 0.97) with VDD seen in 82% of cases and 85% of controls. Pubertal cases had lower 25OHD values than prepubertal obese cases (10.78 ± 4.69 and 17.2 ± 11 ng/mL; P = 0.06). Mean duration of physical activity (<2 h/week) and screen time (>2 h/day) was similar across prepubertal and pubertal groups and between obese and controls. Obesity was not associated with risk for VDD among cases and controls (odds ratio 0.83, 95% C.I. 0.25–2.7, P = 0.76). Conclusion: Obese pubertal subjects were more at risk for VDD than prepubertal subjects. Routine Vitamin D supplementation to obese Indian children may be considered during adolescence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rani Ashouri ◽  
Madison Fangman ◽  
Jordan Brielmaier ◽  
Zoe A. Fields ◽  
Natalie Campo ◽  
...  

Vitamin D deficiency, if left untreated, is associated with bone disorders, cardiovascular damage, and an increased risk of ischemic stroke. While there are various nutritional options for the natural intake of vitamin D, we hope to elucidate the potential mechanisms dietary vitamin D may play in hemorrhagic stroke pathology. This scoping review outlines findings from studies relevant to the biochemical activity of vitamin D, the impact of vitamin D deficiency on hemorrhagic stroke outcomes, and the potential benefit of nutritional vitamin D on hemorrhagic stroke outcomes. Here, we analyze the relevant factors that can lead to vitamin D deficiency, and subsequently, a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke incidence with worsened subsequent outcomes. The neuroprotective mechanisms through which vitamin D works to attenuate hemorrhagic stroke onset and post-stroke outcomes have not yet been thoroughly examined. However, researchers have proposed several potential protective mechanisms, including reduction of blood brain barrier disturbance by inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species, mitigation of inflammation through a reduction of levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and prevention of cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia following subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage. While more research is needed and there are limitations to vitamin D supplementation, vitamin D as a whole may play a significant role in the dynamics of hemorrhagic stroke. Further research should focus on expanding our understanding of the neuroprotective capacity and mechanisms of vitamin D, as well as how vitamin D supplementation could serve as an effective course of treatment of hemorrhagic strokes.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1400
Author(s):  
Niv Ben-Shabat ◽  
Abdulla Watad ◽  
Aviv Shabat ◽  
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi ◽  
Doron Comaneshter ◽  
...  

In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of vitamin D deficiency on all-cause mortality in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and in the general population. This is a retrospective-cohort study based on the electronic database of the largest health-maintenance organization in Israel. AS patients who were first diagnosed between 2002–2007 were included. Controls were matched by age, gender and enrollment-time. Follow-up continued until death or end of study follow-up on 1 July 2019. Laboratory measures of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels during the entire follow-up period were obtained. A total of 919 AS patients and 4519 controls with a mean time of follow-up of 14.3 years were included. The mean age at the time of enrollment was 52 years, and 22% of them were females. AS was associated with a higher proportion of vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio 1.27 [95% confidence-interval (CI) 1.03–1.58]). In AS patients, insufficient levels of vitamin D (<30 ng/mL) were significantly associated with increased incidence of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 1.59 [95% CI 1.02–2.50]). This association was more prominent with the decrease in vitamin D levels (< 20 ng/mL, HR 1.63 [95% CI 1.03–2.60]; <10 ng/mL, HR 1.79 [95% CI 1.01–3.20]) and among male patients (<30 ng/mL, HR 2.11 [95% CI 1.20–3.72]; <20 ng/mL, HR 2.12 [95% CI 1.19–3.80]; <10 ng/mL, HR 2.23 [95% CI 1.12–4.43]). However, inadequate levels of vitamin D among controls were not associated with an increased all-cause mortality. Our study has shown that vitamin D deficiency is more common in AS patients than controls and is linked to an increased risk for all-cause mortality. These results emphasize the need for randomized-controlled trials to evaluate the benefits of vitamin D supplementation as a secondary prevention of mortality in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav K Gupta ◽  
Tanupriya Agrawal ◽  
Michael G Del Core ◽  
William J Hunter ◽  
Devendra K Agrawal

Introduction: Vitamin D is a sectosteroid that functions through vitamin D receptor (VDR), a transcription factor, which regulates various downstream signaling pathways and controls the transcription of many targets genes. Vitamin D deficiency is associated increased risk of incident congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular disease mortality. However, most of the studies which identified an association between lower vitamin D intake or lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D and increased risk of cardiovascular disease are observational or cross-sectional studies. There has been no careful study evaluating the effect of vitamin D supplementation on coronary artery disease outcome following coronary intervention. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D supplementation on coronary artery restenosis following balloon angioplasty in hypercholesterolemic Yucatan microswine. Methods: Twelve female microswine were fed vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-sufficient high cholesterol diet. At six months, animals underwent coronary angioplasty. Following coronary intervention swine in the vitamin D-sufficient high cholesterol diet group received supplementation of 1,000 IU or 3,000 IU of vitamin D3. Six months later, angiogram was performed followed by optical coherence tomography to monitor the development of intimal hyperplasia and restenosis. At the end of 12 months animals were euthanized, coronary arteries were harvested and morphological and histological studies were performed. Results: Findings from the optical coherence tomography and histomorphometric studies showed a significant decrease in neointimal hyperplasia, increase in in-segment lumen diameter, and decrease in the intima-media ratio in coronary arteries following balloon angioplasty in swine with vitamin D supplementation compared to the animals with vitamin D-deficient status. In the in-vitro studies, calcitriol inhibited proliferation of coronary artery smooth muscle cells. Conclusion: These data suggest that vitamin D deficiency increases intimal hyperplasia and restenosis following coronary balloon angioplasty in hypercholesterolemic swine. Since vitamin D inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation, supplementation of non-secosteroidal VDR ligands prior to coronary intervention could help in preventing the neointimal formation and restenosis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Nicoleta DUMITRU ◽  
◽  
Andra BURUIANĂ ◽  
Eugenia PETROVA ◽  
Maria OLARU ◽  
...  

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and a presteroid hormone synthesized in the dermis under UVB rays. In terms of its endocrine functions, it has an important role in mineral homeostasis. Besides these effects, recent studies have found a series of non-calciotropic actions of vitamin D: modulation of autoimmune processes, promoting secretion and insulin action, pulmonary development, inhibition of malignant cells proliferation in various cancers, implications in maternal-fetal pathology. Recent studies have identified the association of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy with a series of maternal complications (preeclampsia, bacterial vaginosis, gestational diabetes, increased risk of cesarean delivery) and fetal complications (affecting skeletal development and tooth enamel, impaired fetal growth). Also, newborns from mothers with vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of tetany, hypocalcemia, with or without seizures and an increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases (asthma, bronchiolitis RSV). Conclusions: There is no current consensus on routine screening of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy, nor the required dosage for vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women. All pregnant women should have a balanced diet and get vitamin D as part of prenatal vitamins. Their purpose is to increase the availability of calcidiol to the fetus and newborn with a beneficial role over the classic effects of vitamin D and possibly over the non-calciotropic ones.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioanna Gouni-Berthold ◽  
Heiner K. Berthold

: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency has been identified as a potential risk factor for a number of diseases unrelated to the classical skeletal pathophysiology, such as cancer and CVD, but the effects of vitamin D supplementation are less clear. Purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the evidence suggesting an association between vitamin D status and CVD as well as the results of supplementation studies. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with CVD risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus as well as with cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure. While vitamin D deficiency might contribute to the development of CVD through its association with risk factors, direct effects of vitamin D on the cardiovascular system may also be involved. Vitamin D receptors are expressed in a variety of tissues, including cardiomyocytes, vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells. Moreover, vitamin D has been shown to affect inflammation, cell proliferation and differentiation. While observational studies support an association between low plasma vitamin D levels and increased risk of CVD, Mendelian randomization studies do not support a causal association between the two. At present, high quality randomized trials do not find evidence of significant effects on CVD endpoints and do not support supplementation of vitamin D to decrease CVD events.


2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian R. Martineau

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of mortality, responsible for 1·68 million deaths worldwide in 2009. The global prevalence of latentMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection is estimated to be 32%, and this carries a 5–20% lifetime risk of reactivation disease. The emergence of drug-resistant organisms necessitates the development of new agents to enhance the response to antimicrobial therapy for active TB. Vitamin D was used to treat TB in the pre-antibiotic era, and its active metabolite, 1,25-dihydoxyvitamin D, has long been known to enhance the immune response to mycobacteriain vitro. Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with active TB, and several clinical trials have evaluated the role of adjunctive vitamin D supplementation in its treatment. Results of these studies are conflicting, reflecting variation between studies in baseline vitamin D status of participants, dosing regimens and outcome measures. Vitamin D deficiency is also recognised to be highly prevalent among people with latentM. tuberculosisinfection in both high- and low-burden settings, and there is a wealth of observational epidemiological evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with increased risk of reactivation disease. Randomised controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of active TB have yet to be performed, however. The conduct of such trials is a research priority, given the safety and low cost of vitamin D supplementation, and the potentially huge public health consequences of positive results.


Author(s):  
Xiaoying Cui ◽  
John J. McGrath ◽  
Thomas H. J. Burne ◽  
Darryl W. Eyles

AbstractMany epidemiological studies have highlighted the link between vitamin D deficiency and schizophrenia. In particular, two prominent studies report an association between neonatal vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of schizophrenia. In parallel, much has been learnt about the role of vitamin D in the developing central nervous system over the last two decades. Studies in rodent models of developmental vitamin D (DVD)-deficiency describe how brain development is altered leading to a range of neurobiological and behavioral phenotypes of interest to schizophrenia. While glutamate and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) systems have been little investigated in these models, alterations in developing dopamine systems are frequently reported. There have been far more studies reporting patients with schizophrenia have an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency compared to well controls. Here we have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that basically confirms this association and extends this to first-episode psychosis. However, patients with schizophrenia also have poorer general health, poorer diets, are frequently less active and also have an increased risk of other medical conditions, all factors which reduce circulating vitamin D levels. Therefore, we would urge caution in any causal interpretation of this association. We also summarize the inconsistent results from existing vitamin D supplementation trials in patients with schizophrenia. In respect to animal models of adult vitamin D deficiency, such exposures produce subtle neurochemical alterations and effects on cognition but do not appear to produce behavioral phenotypes of relevance to schizophrenia. We conclude, the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency during early life may increase the risk of schizophrenia remains plausible and warrants ongoing research.


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