Abstract
Background. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, usual nutrient intake, and food sources of vitamin D of Filipino children aged 6–12 years in selected areas in the Philippines. Methods. The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) collected blood samples of children aged 6–12 years from selected study sites: Manila City and Quezon City in the National Capital Region (NCR); Cagayan Province and Baguio City in Luzon; Northern Samar and Siquijor in Visayas; and Butuan City and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao. About 789 children aged 6–12 years participated in this study. Serum vitamin D was determined by electrochemiluminescence binding assay (ECLIA). Food intake data were collected using two-day nonconsecutive 24 h food recall. Usual nutrient intakes were estimated using Personal Computer Software for Intake Distribution Estimation (PC-SIDE) program. Results. The mean serum vitamin D of 25 (OH)D was 72.7 ± 0.67 μmol/L. The overall prevalence of combined vitamin D deficiency (<50 μmol/L) and insufficiency (51–74 μmol/L) among children aged 6–12 years was 60.6%. Females had a higher prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency compared to males. NCR (57.9%) had a higher deficiency compared to the other areas. The usual intake of vitamin D (2 μg/day) among children was below the adequate intake of 5 μg/day. The main food sources of vitamin D are coming from fish (53%), pork (19%), and egg/egg dishes (16%). Conclusion. This study revealed that there is a significantly high level of vitamin D insufficiency in children aged 6–12 years. Filipino females had higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency compared to males. Among the areas, NCR has the highest prevalence of deficiency/insufficiency.
Highlights
Vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, is essential for the health and growth of bones
Because of the critical role of vitamin D both in growth of children and in immune response, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D status, usual nutrient intake, and food sources of Vitamin D of Filipino children, aged 6–12 years in selected areas in the Philippines based on the 2018 National Nutrition Survey data (NNS 2018)
Compared from the previous surveys, the rolling survey termed as the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) has 24 replicates (8 replicates per year) to achieve reliable domain-level estimates
Summary
Vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, is essential for the health and growth of bones. E vitamin D content of the human body is synthesized to 7-dehydrocholesterol (7DHC) by the exploit of ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation from sunlight. Vitamin D and calcium are bone growth nutrients. Vitamin D deficiency can cause skeletal diseases such as nutritional rickets (NR), osteomalacia, and troubles in calcium homeostasis [3]. The lack of vitamin D has been associated in mental health disorder and can cause neurohormonal effects on brain development and behaviour [4]. E highest level of vitamin D serum values were observed in North America than in Europe or Middle East/Africa region. In the Asia region, children were found to have significantly lower vitamin D serum values than adults and elderly [6]
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