Abstract
Background. Vitamin D deficiency impairs bone health and development. Objective. To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in pediatric international adoptees. Methods. A prospective cohort (N = 189) study from a single international adoption clinic was conducted. Total 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured at the initial clinical assessment (within 6 months of adoption). Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25(OH)D <20 ng/mL (<8 nmol/L) and insufficiency as 25(OH)D <30 ng/mL (<12 nmol/L). Results. Vitamin D deficiency was diagnosed in 8% and insufficiency in 27% of the cohort. Lower body mass index and longer time in an institution were associated with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency independent of age. Conclusions. Vitamin D insufficiency was common in our cohort of international adoptees. The significance of vitamin D insufficiency on bone development during the typical catch-up growth following international adoption needs to be determined.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1149-1153 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Clinical Pediatrics |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research reported in this publication was supported in part by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23AR057789.
Keywords
- bone
- global health
- pediatrics