Factors affecting vitamin D status in Moscow adolescents

Abstract

Justification of the study. The normalization of vitamin D levels in both children and adults is the goal of numerous studies around the world, and the setting of a number of objectives related to this vector of preventive medicine, dictates the need for a more detailed study of regional features of the status of calcidiol and the identification of both risk factors and risk groups. Aim of the study: to analyze the impact of risk factors on the provision of vitamin D to adolescents in the Moscow region. Methods: 360 children over 11 years of age (average age was 14.74 ± 1.92 years) who attended a children’s polyclinic for preventive check-ups or are under observation in a day-care centre. After the examination, all schoolchildren were determined to have serum content of calcidiol – active metabolite of vitamin D. Results: the analysis revealed low vitamin D levels in children, with a median of 16.1 ng/ml. Normal vitamin D levels were found in only 6.7% of cases. The following risk factors for vitamin D deficiency were identified in Moscow schoolchildren: time of year (p < 0.001), inclusion of such foods as fish (p = 0.021) and liver (p = 0.036), gastrointestinal pathology (p < 0.001), endocrine system pathology (p < 0.001), musculoskeletal system pathology (p = 0.045): course of chronic inflammatory process (p = 0.01) in the body. The correlation between acute respiratory diseases and calcidiol supply was analyzed: at low frequency of acute respiratory infections during the year, the median level of vitamin D was 17.1 ng/ml (Q1-Q3: 12.6-22.1 ng/ml), at an average frequency – 11.4 ng/ml (Q1-Q3: 8.45-16.05 ng/ml), at high frequency – decreased to 7.94 ng/ml (Q1-Q3: 5.89-9.06 ng/ml). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency prophylaxis should be provided to children all year round, without a break for the summer months. If a child has a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency, the metabolite correction should be controlled by the calcidiol serum content.