Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among 460,537 children in 825 hospitals from 18 provinces in mainland China
Chunsong Yang, Meng Mao, Ping Li, Dan Yu
Abstract
This study was conducted to estimate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH)D) levels and explore factors related to vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. This was a multicenter, hospital-based, cross-sectional observational study. Children admitted to hospitals for health examination were included for vitamin D measurement and the 25(OH)D concentration results were categorized into 3 groups: deficiency (<30 nmol/L), insufficiency (30-50 nmol/L), and sufficiency (>50 nmol/L). Four lakh sixty thousand five hundred thirty-seven children in 825 hospitals from 18 provinces participated in this study. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency were 6.69%, 15.92%, and 77.39%, respectively. Vitamin D deficiency was the most severe in the central region, followed by the north, and southwest regions; however, data for the western region were lacking.Logistic regression showed that vitamin D status was worse in girls, newborns, and those visiting the hospital in the winter. In conclusion, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is high among Chinese children and adolescents. Studies on population estimates, cost-effective screening strategies, and interventions for high-risk cases are needed.