Vitamin D status and associated factors of deficiency among Jordanian children of preschool age

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: E.K. Nichols, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; I.M.D. Khatib, Jordan University of Science & Technology; Nancy Aburto, Emory University; M.K. Serdula, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; K.S. Scanlon, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; J.P. Wirth, GroundWork LLC; K.M. Sullivan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-01-01
• Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2014, Macmillan Publishers Limited
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.142
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 90
• End Page: 95
• Grant/Funding Information: The current survey was funded through a grant agreement between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Government of Jordan Ministry of Health, and through a Memorandum of Understanding between GAIN and CDC.
• Keywords: PREVALENCE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; INFANTS; HYPOVITAMINOSIS-D; NUTRITIONAL RICKETS; HEALTHY; DETERMINANTS; Science & Technology; Nutrition & Dietetics; WOMEN

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D deficiency in children remains a global concern. Although literature exists on the vitamin D status and its risk factors among children in the Middle East, findings have yielded mixed results, and large, representative community studies are lacking. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a nationally representative survey of 1077 Jordanian children of preschool age (12-59 months) in Spring 2010, we measured 25(OH)D3 concentrations by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and calculated prevalence ratios for deficiency associated with various factors. RESULTS: RESULTS showed 19.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 16.4-23.3%) deficiency (<12 ng/ml) and 56.5% (95% CI: 52.0-61.0%) insufficiency (<20 ng/ml). In adjusted models, prevalence of deficiency was higher for females compared with males (prevalence ratio (PR)=1.74, 95% CI: 1.22-2.47, P=0.002) and lower for children 24-35 months of age (PR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.44-0.92, P=0.018) compared with children 12-23 months of age. In rural areas, there was no difference in prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between those whose mothers had/did not have vitamin D deficiency (P=0.312); however, in urban areas, prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 3.18 times greater among those whose mothers were vitamin D deficient compared with those whose mothers were not deficient (P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency pose significant public health problems in Jordanian children with female children disproportionately affected. Strong associations between vitamin D status in children and urban residency and maternal vitamin D status suggest that the behaviors related to sun exposure in urban mothers likely also affect the sun exposure and thus vitamin D status of their children.