Current vitamin D recommendations fraction of safe, perhaps essential levels for children

“Our research reveals that vitamin D, at doses equivalent to 2,000 IUs a day, is not only safe for adolescents, but it is actually necessary for achieving desirable vitamin D levels,” said Ghada El-Haff Fuleihan, M.D., of the American University of Beirut-Medical Center, Lebanon, and lead author of the study.

Vitamin D is an essential hormone for bone growth and development in children and promotes skeletal health in adults. Currently, the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine recommends an adequate daily intake of 200 IUs of vitamin D for children. This is also the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. These levels, however, may not be adequate for bone growth and musculoskeletal health in children and adolescents.

“Data on appropriate vitamin D levels in the pediatric age group are lacking,” said Dr. Fuleihan. “This is a major obstacle to finding the right daily allowance to enhance musculoskeletal health.”

To help clarify these important guidelines, Fuleihan and his colleagues conducted both short- and long-term trials to gauge the safety of relatively high doses of vitamin D3 in children ages 10-17 years.

Vitamin D3 is one of the most common forms of vitamin D, and is easily converted to 25-OHD (25-hydroxyvitamin), which is the active form of vitamin D found in the blood.

For this placebo-controlled study, researchers gave children various doses of vitamin D at various intervals and measured the impact this had on serum levels of 25-OHD.

For the short-term study, 25 students (15 boys and 10 girls) received one-weekly, 14,000 IU doses of vitamin D for eight weeks. Serum levels of 25-OHD were then measured for an additional eight weeks. This portion of the test was conducted during the summer and early fall, when the highest natural levels of vitamin D are reached.

For the long-term, one-year study, 340 students (172 boys and 168 girls) received either a low dose of vitamin D (1,400 IUs each week) or a high dose (14,000 IUs each week).

Only children given the equivalent of 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D increased 25-OHD levels from the mid-teens to the mid-thirties (ng/ml)—the level considered optimal for adults. None of the children in either trial showed any evidence for vitamin D intoxication.

Although many experts agree that a 25-OHD level of 30 ng/ml is desirable in adults, what constitutes an optimal D level for children and adolescents is more debatable. According to the researchers, due to rapid skeletal growth, children and adolescents are more likely to be vitamin D deficient, and are far less likely to reach vitamin D levels that doctors would consider toxic.

“Supplementation of children and adolescents with 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D3 is well tolerated and safe,” said Dr. Fuleihan. “This is particularly relevant in light of the increasingly recognized health benefits of vitamin D for adults and children.”

Source: The Endocrine Society

Mother's vitamin D status during pregnancy will affect her baby's dental health
Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.
Get a Little Sun This Summer – It Could Help Save Your Life
As summer comes and people across America get ready to start slathering on the sunscreen, a note of caution is in order – a little sunshine is good for you.
Study links vitamin D, type 1 diabetes
Sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to new findings by researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. This association comes on the heels of similar research findings by this same group regarding vitamin D levels and several major cancers.
Low vitamin D levels appear common in healthy children
Many healthy infants and toddlers may have low levels of vitamin D, and about one-third of those appear to have some evidence of reduced bone mineral content on X-rays, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
First study to examine vitamin D insufficiency in pediatric patients with low bone density
Vitamin D insufficiency is common in adults and is emerging in the world of pediatrics. A mild degree of vitamin D deficiency, also known as vitamin D insufficiency, causes rickets in children and can be treated with increased amount of nutritional vitamin D intake as well as increased sun exposure.
Vitamin D in brain function
In a definitive critical review, scientists at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland ask whether there is convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction. Joyce C. McCann, Ph.D., assistant staff scientist and Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., senior scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) conclude that there is ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function, and that supplementation for groups chronically low in vitamin D is warranted. Their conclusions will be published on April 22, 2008 in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.
Low vitamin D levels associated with an increased risk of peripheral arterial disease
Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with an increased risk for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2008.
Researchers discover gene behind devastating vitamin B12-related disorder
Swiss, British and Canadian researchers have identified the gene responsible for a rare but serious genetic disorder and have simultaneously provided more clues as to how vitamin B12 works in the body. Their results will be published April 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Current vitamin D recommendations fraction of safe, perhaps essential levels for children

Related stories:

News discussion: