Calcium (Ca2+) and vitamin D (VitD) are essential for children. The daily intake of Ca2+ and VitD in healthy youngsters was studied. Furthermore, researchers showed that Ca2+ and VitD supplementation are effective. A validated questionnaire was used to assess daily Ca2 + and VitD intake in a group of healthy children. Patients who consumed less than 70% of their daily Ca2+ and VitD DRIs were invited to participate in a prospective randomized trial with two groups of nutritional intervention: Group 1, dietary counseling aimed at optimizing daily Ca2+ and VitD intake plus administration of a commercially available Ca2 + and VitD supplementation product; Group 2, dietary counseling alone. They measured Serum 25(OH) Vitamin D levels at the start of the study (T0) and four months later (T1).
Researchers tested 150 healthy youngsters (50% male, mean age 10 years); all subjects had low VitD intake at baseline (median 0.79 g/die, IQR 1.78; range 0.01-5.02); this condition was linked to Ca2+ consumption of less than 70% of DRIs in 82 subjects (55%). Serum 25(OH)D levels were low (<30 ng/ml) at baseline in all study participants, but after 4 months of nutritional intervention, serum 25(OH). They normalized D levels (≥30 ng/ml) wherein all children in Group 1 and only one subject in Group 2 [Group 1: T1 33.8 ng/ml (IQR 2.5) vs. Group 2: T1 24.5 ng/ml (IQR 5.2), P<0.001]. In pediatric patients, adequate Ca2+ and VitD intakes are difficult to achieve solely through dietary guidance. Oral Ca2+ and VitD supplementation is a good method for preventing this disease.
Reference:bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2431-13-86
