title: Effects of seasonal variation and maternal clothing style on vitamin D levels of mothers and their infants.
abstract: In Turkey, vitamin D deficiency has been seen in children as well as in their mothers. We assessed the vitamin D status of 83 infants and their mothers, categorized into four groups according to season and mothers' clothing style. We measured serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, calcium, inorganic phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase in each mother-infant pair. In the summer, the rate of vitamin D deficiency was higher in mothers who wore clothing that covered nearly all of the body (55%) than in mothers whose clothing covered less of the body (13.6%) (p=0.016). In the winter, nearly half of both groups of mothers had vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, and there were no significant differences based on their clothing style (p>0.05). In all groups of infants, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency rates were found to be very low. It seems that 400 IU/daily vitamin D intake is adequate for infants in Turkey; for mothers, we propose vitamin D supplementation during the pregnancy and lactation period.
authors.affiliation: Well Child Clinic, Ankara Child Health and Diseases Hematology-Oncology Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. baharcc44@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Bahar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Çuhacı-Çakır
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Demirel
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D003020:Clothing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D