The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in a pediatric hospital in Romania

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency in childhood represents an important link not only in the pathophysiology of rickets, but also of non-skeletal diseases with immune-mediated pathogenesis. The present study is a cross-sectional analytical one that was carried out on 2464 patients aged from 0 to 17 years old who were hospitalized in the Children's Emergency Clinical Hospital ″St. Ioan″, Galati. The study duration was between 01.11.2021 - 31.10.2022 and involved the measurement of serum vitamin D levels using the YHLO I - FLASH 1800A device, by chemiluminescence technique, or with the GEMINI device, through ELISA technique. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, deficiency, and toxicity among children was 11.32%, 1.78%, and respectively 0.64%.. The cases of insufficiency and vitamin D deficiency were more common in girls (55.55%; 65.90%) than in boys (45.90%; 34.10%) whereas the cases with toxic levels were more common in boys and within the 1-3 years age group. The children from urban areas were more predisposed to hypovitaminosis. Although vitamin D deficiency was found in only 11% (279) of the patients, the management of pathological vitamin D values is very important and should be assessed for every child, especially where sex, age, and place of origin are significant risk factors.