FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH VITAMIN D STATUS AMONG THAI CHILDREN AGED 3-13 YEARS

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2016 Mar;47(2):277-86.

Abstract

The impact of vitamin D status on bone health and other health conditions is receiving increasingly attention. We aimed to determine the association between environmental factors and vitamin D intake by examining serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in Thai children. We conducted a cross sectional study among 477 Thai children from 4 regions in Thailand. Vitamin D intake was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire completed by the older children or by the parents for younger children. Dietary vitamin D intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. A serum 25(OH)D level was examined for each subject using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the association between studied factors and the serum 25(OH)D level. The final model showed a significant association between sunlight exposure and the serum 25(OH)D level (β = 0.65, p < 0.01), but not between dietary vitamin D intake and the serum 25(OH)D level (p = 0.01, p = 0.77), suggesting sunlight exposure is more important for the vitamin D status than dietary vitamin D intake.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diet
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Sunlight
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Thailand / epidemiology
  • Vitamin D / analogs & derivatives*
  • Vitamin D / blood
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / epidemiology

Substances

  • Vitamin D
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D