Deficiency of Vitamin D Identified as Serious Global Health Problem

Deficiency of vitamin D has been classed with malaria and neonatal disease as a major cause of childhood mortality, according to the Center for Global Child Health at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

The Center for Global Child Health is dedicated to improving child health outcomes through research, training and clinical applications.

The findings of recent research on the impact of low vitamin levels on child health were presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Baltimore. The studies suggest that a deficiency of vitamin D is a serious global health problem, having extensive impact on women and children worldwide. Deficiency is a serious problem for populations where exposure to sun is limited and dietary sources of the vitamin are poor or scarce.

Among the findings on deficiency of vitamin D presented to the Pediatric Academic Societies were the following:

  • More than half of all infants (58%) are born with a deficiency of vitamin D, and more than a third of all mothers (33%) are deficient when they give birth. In about two-thirds of cases, the deficiency was classified as severe.
  • The children of women with deficiency are more than five times as likely to be born with a deficiency. Winter birth, maternal obesity, and African American race also appear to be risk factors for deficiency
  • Long-term deficiency is not necessarily rapidly treatable. Of the mothers who took supplements during the final trimester of pregnancy, a full 30% remained deficient at the time of birth.

    • Long known primarily for its importance in building and maintaining bone strength, vitamin D has been the subject of a great deal of recent research. Studies done all over the world show very strong correlations between deficiency of vitamin D and a number of diseases, ranging from heart disease to asthma and even several forms of cancer.

    The importance of the vitamin was underscored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which in 2008 doubled its recommended daily amount for children from 200 to 400 IU, starting with the first day of life.

    In 2007 the Canadian Cancer Society also raised its daily requirement, recommending 1,000 IU of vitamin Ddaily for adults during the fall and winter months.