[Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children aged 5-10 years in western Brittany].
French guidelines do not recommend systematic supplementation of vitamin D in children aged 5-10 years old owing to the lack of data on vitamin D status in this age group. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in these children.


METHODS
Single-center, prospective, epidemiological study including 358 children aged 0-15 years. The endpoint was the concentration of vitamin D.


RESULTS
In all, 316 children were divided into four groups according to age: 0-18 months (n=113); 18 months to 5 years (n=103); 5-10 years (n=62); and 10-15 years (n=38). The median concentration of vitamin D decreased with age (P<0.001): 90.2 nmol/L in the group aged 0-18 months; 56.7 nmol/L in the group aged 18 months to 5 years; 49.05 nmol/L in the group aged 5-10 years; and 42.45 nmol/L in the group aged 10-15 years. This corresponds to an increase in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children aged 5-10 years (51.6% vs. 8.8% in the group aged 0-18 months, P<0.001). For children aged 5-10 years, the prevalence of deficiency was greater in the non-supplementation group (75%) compared with the supplementation group (13%; P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children aged 5-10 years and the relationship between supplementation and vitamin D status. It provides an argument in favor of supplementation in children aged 5-10 years in this region and a reconsideration of the French recommendations.
Service de pédiatrie et génétique médicale, CHRU de Brest, 2, avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France.
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Beuzit
Service de pédiatrie et génétique médicale, CHRU de Brest, 2, avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France.
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L'Hour
Centre d'investigation clinique, CHRU de Brest, 29200 Brest, France.
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Roudaut
Centre d'investigation clinique, CHRU de Brest, 29200 Brest, France.
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Gouillou
Service de pédiatrie et génétique médicale, CHRU de Brest, 2, avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France.
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Metz
Département de biochimie et pharmacologie-toxicologie, CHRU de Brest, 29200 Brest, France.
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Moineau
Département de biochimie et pharmacologie-toxicologie, CHRU de Brest, 29200 Brest, France.
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Kerspern
Service de pédiatrie et génétique médicale, CHRU de Brest, 2, avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France.
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de Parscau
Service de pédiatrie et génétique médicale, CHRU de Brest, 2, avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France. Electronic address: raphael.teissier@chu-brest.fr.
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Teissier
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage
D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D