We have already written several articles about vitamin D. You can read them here or here. This article focuses on vitamin D purely in relation to children. The importance of vitamin D goes far beyond bone health. New insights into how vitamin D affects health are continually expanding and contributing to our understanding of how this hormone affects virtually every cell in our body.
Article at a glanc:
- The role of vitamin D in children's health
- Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
- Children and the risk of vitamin D deficiency
- How to appropriately set up vitamin D supplementation?
The role of vitamin D in children's health
It is well known that vitamin D helps children build healthy bones and prevents the development of rickets (=a disease characterized by softening of the bones, which can lead to, for example, stunted growth, bone deformities and more frequent fractures). Vitamin D also modulates the immune system: it increases immunity against infectious diseases and may prevent the development of autoimmune diseases. [1]
But recently, there has also been increased interest in vitamin D in relation to proper brain development and mental health. Vitamin D has been shown to affect proteins directly involved in learning, memory, and social behavior, and is also important for maintaining attention or the ability to adapt to change. [1] [2]
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
Symptoms associated with vitamin D deficiency include irritability, joint pain (such as knee joints), muscle pain, back pain, delayed development, increased tooth decay, or bone fractures. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are more likely to occur in younger children, while older children and adolescents may not have any symptoms. It is therefore important to check vitamin D levels regularly.
Children and the risk of vitamin D deficiency
Children are one of the groups at higher risk of deficiency of this 'sunshine vitamin'. Children under 2 years of age are particularly at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Reasons for this include poor kidney and liver function, which play a role in vitamin D metabolism, but also low vitamin D status of the breastfeeding mother. Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiency is widespread during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the vitamin D content of breast milk is closely related to the vitamin D status of the breastfeeding mother. [3]
The fact that infants are logically less exposed to sunlight also contributes to vitamin D deficiency in children. In our geographical conditions older children are also at risk of vitamin D deficiency. In addition, overweight or obese children, children with darker skin color and those who do not eat fish and fatty foods are at higher risk of deficiency.
How to appropriately set up vitamin D supplementation?
EFSA recommends a daily dose of 400 IU D3 for children up to 11 months and 600 IU D3 per day from 12 months. This dose may be sufficient to prevent rickets, but higher doses may be needed to achieve other health benefits. In addition, for a child who is already vitamin D deficient, this recommended dose will not be sufficient.
In any case, laboratory-measured vitamin D levels will help set the correct dosage. To monitor the effectiveness of supplementation, it is then advisable to recheck vitamin D levels after 2 to 3 months.
You can read what all affects the final vitamin D level in the human body in this article.
Sources:
[1] Weydert JA. Vitamin D in Children's Health. Children (Basel). 2014 Sep 12;1(2):208-26. doi: 10.3390/children1020208. PMID: 27417476; PMCID: PMC4928729.
[2] McCann JC, Ames BN. Is there convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction? FASEB J. 2008 Apr;22(4):982-1001. doi: 10.1096/fj.07-9326rev. Epub 2007 Dec 4. PMID: 18056830.
[3] Dawodu A, Tsang RC. Maternal vitamin D status: effect on milk vitamin D content and vitamin D status of breastfeeding infants. Adv Nutr. 2012 May 1;3(3):353-61. doi: 10.3945/an.111.000950. PMID: 22585912; PMCID: PMC3649470.