Kids and Rickets

Monday, 22 February 2010 12:18

In adults, sustained low levels of vitamin D can lead to osteomalacia, a painful condition that results in diminished mineralization of bone, softening and deforming them. (Osteoporosis is due to a loss of all the constituents of bone within the framework of those bones) The kids’ version of osteomalacia is rickets, a bone deforming condition that was all but wiped out in the 1930s with the introduction of vitamin D-fortified milk and cod-liver oil.

The re-emergence of rickets as a health concern is relatively recent. In a 2009 study, Dr. Jonathan Mansbach of Harvard Medical School concluded that 20% of children whose data he studied don’t get enough vitamin D. The number rises to 80% in Hispanics and 90% in African-Americans.

For both adults and kids, sunlight is essential for synthesizing vitamin D in the skin. And with more children staying indoors to play computer games and watch TV, sun exposure is dramatically reduced. Skin pigmentation is also a factor. People with darker skins—and a greater degree of melanin—absorb less sunlight, and their skin makes lower quantities of vitamin D. Kids who live in colder climates with longer, darker winters are also at increased risk.

Given decreasing activity levels in children, increasing use of sunscreen, and the difficulty of getting enough vitamin D through diet alone, supplements may be the answer. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that all infants and children, including adolescents, have a minimum daily intake of 400 IU of vitamin D beginning soon after birth. Children diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency should be treated with at least 200 IU of ergocalciferol or colecalciferol (by prescription) for 8 to 12 weeks, followed by high-quality over-the-counter supplements.

American Bone Health recommends that you talk to your pediatrician about this important issue.