title: The clinical characteristics of vitamin D deficiency in childhood: a systematic literature review of Japanese patients.
abstract: To describe the characteristics of children with vitamin D deficiency, we reviewed the reports of vitamin D deficiency among Japanese children that were published between 1989 and 2008. We identified 25 patients with vitamin D deficiency in 9 published studies and evaluated their clinical characteristics together with those of 3 patients we recently treated. The patients were distributed in two distinct age groups at diagnosis: < 1 year old and > or = 1 year old. The main symptom of the < 1 year old age group was hypocalcemic convulsions and that of the > or = 1 year old age group was bowed legs. Serum calcium, intact PTH, and 1,25(OH)2D levels were significantly lower in the < 1 year age group than in the > or = 1 year age group. It would be useful to find and make early interventions in cases of children at a high-risk of vitamin D deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan. yohei@ck9.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akazawa
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiohara
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Isaki
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurata
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D002118:Calcium