Vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents in bağcılar,İstanbul

Objective: this study aimed to evaluate the frequency of seasonal 25-hydroxyvitamin d [25(oh)d] deficiency and insufficiency in children and adolescents living in bağcılar,district of istanbul city. methods: serum vitamin d levels of 280 children aged 3-17 years old were measured at the end of winter and at the end of summer. of the total group,vitamin d levels were re-measured in 198 subjects. vitamin d deficiency was defined as a serum 25(oh)d level less than 15 ng/ml and insufficiency-as levels between 15 and 20 ng/ml. patients whose vitamin d levels were less than 15 ng/ml at the end of winter were treated with 2000 units/day of vitamin d for 3 months. results: in the “end of winter” samples,25(oh)d deficiency was present in 80.36% of the subjects and insufficiency in 11.79%. in the “end of summer” samples,vitamin d deficiency was detected in 3.44% and insufficiency in 27.75%. vitamin d levels in the “end of winter” samples were not significantly different between boys and girls,while “end of summer” levels were significantly lower in girls (p=0.015). sunlight exposure was significantly higher in boys (p=0.011). the group with sufficient dairy product consumption had significantly higher vitamin d levels in both “end of summer” and “end of winter” samples. limb pain was frequently reported in children with low vitamin d levels in the “end of winter” samples (p=0.001). negative correlations were observed between vitamin d levels and season and also between vitamin d levels and age. conclusion: it is essential to provide supplemental vitamin d to children and adolescents to overcome the deficiency seen especially at the end of winter. © journal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology,published by galenos publishing.