Assessment of Vitamin D Levels in Healthy Infants: A Cross-Sectional Survey Highlighting the Relationship of Vitamin D with Feeding Habits

Abstract

Objective: To know and assess the levels of Vitamin D in healthy infants without having the signs of Vitamin D deficiency on radiological and clinical aspects.
 Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out at Baqai Medical University Hospital Karachi. The sampling technique used was non-probability consecutive. Total 145 infants were included in this cross sectional study that were apparently healthy and showed no features of Vitamin D defi- ciency clinically and radiologically within the age of two to six month. Sample size calculated was 145. Infants on Vitamin D supplementation, with renal, hepatic or congenital heart disease, gastrointesti- nal problems, low birth weight and intrauterine growth retardation were excluded from the study.
 Results: The feeding habits were breast feeding, formula feeding and mixed feeding as 62 (72.7%), 41 (28.3%) and 42 (29%) respectively. Vitamin D level were defined in three categories in which 57 (39.3%) were deficient, 39 (27%) were insufficient and 49 (33.8%) were found to be sufficient. Vitamin D levels were compared with weight to know the significance. It was discovered that Vitamins D and weight had a significant association with p-value of 0.02. There was no difference observed in length and Vitamin D levels with a p-value of 0.155 and OFC (occipital-frontal circumference) and Vitamin D levels with p-value of 0.491.
 Conclusion: Frequency of Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is quite common even in apparently healthy infants. The levels of Vitamin D in normal healthy infants of two to six month of age were defi- cient. Furthermore, Vitamin D deficiency was related to the feeding habits of the infants. The infants on breast feeding had sufficient Vitamin D levels in most cases whereas it was deficient in formula and mixed feed of infants.