Vitamin D Deficiency Prevalent in Children With T1D

US Pharm. 2016;41(5):6.

Philadelphia, PA—An examination of approximately 200 healthy-weight children and adolescents from the Diabetes Center for Children at the Children’s Hospital has detected a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). During regular follow-up visits, nonfasting blood samples were collected to measure blood glucose and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and A1C and other variables were abstracted from medical records. About 41% of patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels ≤50 nmol/L, 49% had levels between 51 and 75 nmol/L, and 10.2% had levels >75 nmol/L. Because the association was not positive, longitudinal studies are needed for confirmation. Previously, healthy-weight pediatric patients with T1D were considered to be at no risk or low risk for deficient vitamin D levels.