the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among one to six year old children of tehran, iran

Background:vitamin d has an essential role in bone growth and metabolism. currently, its role has been investigated in different diseases. it is high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in the world, particularly in developing countries.objectives:the aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in children of 1 6 years old and its relation with their age, sex and body mass index.methods:this study was conducted in pediatric clinic of javaheri hospital in tehran, from 2016 to 2017. the study population was children of 1 6 years old presenting to the pediatric clinic for routine examination or treatment. the collected data included age, gender, height, weight, and serum 25hydroxy vitamin d level.results:of the total population of 288 children, 47.2% were female and 52.8% were male. the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency was 51%, while 4.51% had severe deficiency (level of vitamin d < 10 ng/ml). the relation between the level of vitamin d and variables of gender, height, weight, and body mass index was not statistically significant. nonetheless, the level of vitamin d had a statistically significant relation with age such that, serum level of 25(oh) vitamin d reduced by 3.47 ng/ml for every one year of age (p < 0.001).conclusions:the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency is increasing with increasing age. therefore, adoption of preventive and therapeutic measures is necessary to reduce its prevalence and side effects.