Dietary Factors Explain Vitamin D Differences in Newborns
Variances in vitamin D levels in infants may be explained by factors affecting dietary intake regarding vitamin D and milk supplementation, medical experts say, quoting new research that targeted 1898 children between the ages of one to five. According to experts, this finding is significant due to the relative importance of vitamin D in enhancing bone health among people even at an early age, which may influence a person’s future risk for osteoporosis and fractures based on guidelines from an online fracture assessment tool by the World Health Organization.
Some researchers in the study suspect that exposure to the sun and skin pigmentation may help explain why some children had normal levels of vitamin D (about 35ng/ml), while others had less than 20ng/ml which was far below normal. However, the study team found out that these two factors did not affect the disparities of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between the two children’s groups too significantly. The researchers still believe that considering the relative ages of the children in the study, some level of sun exposure must be a factor in how vitamin D levels in newborns vary from one to another.
The researchers tested giving vitamin D supplements to some newborns which improved blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels compared to those who did not receive supplementation. The results from this part of testing were adjusted with other confounding factors, such as, outdoor playtime, skin pigmentation, and seasonal environmental exposure.
Researchers also tested drinking cow’s milk for infants as an alternate means of supplementation. After adjusting for confounders, the study found that every 250 ml of cow’s milk increased a child’s 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Also, having lighter skin pigmentation and more sun exposure during the summer seasons were found to similarly improve their levels of vitamin D.
Early childhood is considered to be an important stage in a person’s development, likewise recent studies have shown that early adolescence is also an important time for building bone density to protect against osteoporosis later in life. The researchers recommended that achieving and maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D through nutrition is essential not just for building bone strength but also to overall health, not just in childhood but also into later adulthood. Learn more about osteoporosis and bone health at the Fosamax class action lawsuit center at this site: http://www.fosamaxclassaction.us
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