Vitamin D Status in A Sample of Preschool Children Aged From 1 to 6 Years Visiting the Pediatrics Clinic at Jordan University Hospital

Objectives: Vitamin D status was investigated in 200 children (100 males and 100 females) visiting the Pediatrics Clinic at Jordan University Hospital.Methods: Subjects were categorized into two age groups: 1-3 years (toddlers) and 3-6 years (preschool children). Data were collected on children’s lifestyle factors, dietary intake, height, weight and BMI.Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25 (OH) D3) concentration was determined.Results: 16.5% of the children had vitamin D deficiency (serum 25 (OH) D3 ≤ 15 ng/mL), while 15.5% had vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25 (OH) D3 from 15 to 20 ng/mL). Serum 25 (OH) D3 levels for the toddlers (26.25 ± 1.16) were significantly higher (P 0.05) than those of the preschool children (21.49 ±1.16). Serum 25 (OH) D3 was significantly higher (P 0.05) for exclusively formula-fed children (27.42 ± 0.86) or children with mixed feeding (26.69 ± 0.92) than for those who were exclusively breast-fed (17.02 ± 0.90). Also, serum 25 (OH) D3 levels were positively correlated with the duration of formula feeding (r = 0.4849, P 0.0001), duration of outdoor physical activity (r = 0.3940, P 0.0001), monthly frequency of outdoor physical activity (r = 0.61087, P 0.0001), and vitamin D (r = 0.4678, p 0.0001) and calcium (r =0.4951, p 0.0001) intakes. However, serum 25 (OH) D3 levels were negatively correlated with duration of breast feeding (r = -0.3554, P 0.0001) and BMI (r = -0.4235; P 0.0001).Conclusions: It is concluded that hypovitaminosis D is common in preschool children and that lifestyle conditions influence vitamin D status.