Vitamin D nutritional status and the influencing factors among children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the nutritional status of vitamin D and to analyze the influencing factors of vitamin D deficiency among children and adolescents.

METHODS

Data from 1,827 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years from the nutrition and health surveillance of Zhejiang province, China, were analyzed. The serum concentration of 25-(OH)D were measured using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were calculated. Ordinal regression were used to identify the influencing factors of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency.

RESULTS

The mean 25-(OH)D concentration was 20.84 ± 6.34 μg/L. Among the participants, 37.4% had vitamin D insufficiency (25-(OH)D <20 μg/L) and 7.8% had vitamin D deficiency (25-(OH)D <12 μg/L). Age group (Wald = 5.921, = 0.015), sex (Wald = 6.206, = 0.013), overweight/obesity (Wald = 3.894, = 0.048), and outdoor activity time (Wald = 4.113, = 0.043) were the influencing factors of children and adolescents with insufficiency/deficiency vitamin D status.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study assessed the nutritional status of vitamin D and analyzed the influencing factors of vitamin D deficiency among children and adolescents in the eastern coastal areas of China. The results indicated a significant prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. Key influencing factors included age group, sex, overweight/obesity, and outdoor activity time. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve vitamin D levels in children and adolescents. Specifically, promoting adequate outdoor activity and addressing overweight/obesity could be effective strategies to enhance vitamin D status in this population.