Vitamin D in Children


Vitamin D in children


Vitamin D

Frequently asked questions about Vitamin D in childhood

Where do we get Vitamin D?

Sunshine is the main natural source of our Vitamin D. Less than 10% of Vitamin D is from our diet. In the UK, Vitamin D can only be made in our skin by the action of sunlight during the summer-time, and only during the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky. Vitamin D is found in a few natural foods such as oily fish (sardines, salmon, mackerel, pilchards and tuna). A few foods are fortified with small amounts of Vitamin D (infant formula milk, margarine and some breakfast cereals). Therefore,the main source of Vitamin D for much of our population these days is supplements, either prescribed or over-the-counter from pharmacies, health food shops and the internet.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that we need for healthy bones, and to control the amount of calcium in the blood. There is recent evidence that it has a role in preventing many other important diseases.

What is Vitamin D deficiency?

There is scientific debate about what is the optimal Vitamin D blood level. Vitamin D deficiency historically is defined as a blood level of 25hydroxyVitaminD below 25nmol/L. Current practice is to define deficiency as less than 50nmol/Lbased on robust evidence of benefits to bone health when levels are more than 50nmol/L.


Why is Vitamin D important?

Vitamin D deficiency is an increasing problem, especially for dark-skinned people. Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets and poor growth in children, seizures in infants and adolescents, cardiomyopathy in infants, and osteomalacia in adults. It can cause muscle weakness at any age.
child and father

What makes us more likely to get Vitamin D deficiency?

1. Increased need:

  1. Pregnant and breastfeeding women
  2. Infants
  3. Twin and multiple pregnancies
  4. Adolescents
  5. Obesity

2. Reduced sun exposure:

  1. Northern latitude – especially above 50 degrees latitude
  2. Season – low levels are common in winter and spring
  3. Asian and Afro-Caribbean people – dark-skinned people need more sunshine to make Vitamin D
  4. Wearing concealing clothing
  5. Immobility – especially those with chronic diseases
  6. Excessive use of sun block – most block out UVB more than UVA (although it is UVA which is the main cause of skin cancer)

3. Diet (but remember sunshine is more important – less than 10% of Vitamin D is from diet):

  1. Vegan
  2. Prolonged breastfeeding – breast milk does not contain enough Vitamin D to maintain levels in a baby even if the mother has sufficient Vitamin D
  3. Exclusion diets – e.g. cows milk allergy
  4. Malabsorption – e.g. Coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease.
  5. Liver disease – (impaired 25-hydroxylation)
  6. Renal disease – (impaired 1-hydroxylation)
  7. Some drugs – e.g. Anticonvulsants, Anti-TB drugs
source:http://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/clinical-services/paediatric-adolescents/vitamin-d-children