Effect of vitamin D supplementation, directly or via breast milk for term infants, on serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D and related biochemistry, and propensity to infection: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.
Br J Nutr. 2016 May 17:1-7. [Epub ahead of print]
Chandy DD1, Kare J2, Singh SN2, Agarwal A3, Das V3, Singh U3, Ramesh V4, Bhatia V1.
1Department of Endocrinology,Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences,Lucknow 226014,India.
2Department of Pediatrics,Queen Mary's Hospital,King George's Medical University,Lucknow 226003,India.
3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,Queen Mary's Hospital,King George's Medical University,Lucknow 226003,India.
4Department of Clinical Chemistry,Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences,Lucknow 226014,India.
230 pairs for 9 months
Number of days with respiratory or diarrhoeal infection
| 120,000 IU monthly mother | 400 IU daily infant | Placebo |
| 19 days | 13 days | 47 days |
See also VitaminDWiki
- Third study found that Infants needed 1600 IU of vitamin D – JAMA RCT May 2013
- Breastfeeding mother getting 6400 IU of Vitamin D is similar to infant getting 400 IU – RCT Sept 2015
study on this page should have used at least 192,000 IU monthly (30 X 6400) - Vitamin D required for breastfed infants – daily or monthly, infant or mother – Jan 2017
Infant-Child category starts with
- No consensus on MINIMUM International Units (IU) for healthy infant of normal weight
- 400 IU Vitamin D is no longer enough
Was OK in the past century, but D levels have been dropping for a great many reasons.
FDA doubles the amount of vitamin D permitted in milk – July 2016 - No consensus: range is 600 to 1600 IU – based on many randomized controlled trials
- Review of 400 IU to 2000 IU daily and higher if non-daily
- Fewer pre-infants were vitamin D deficient when they got 800 IU – RCT Feb 2014
- 1600 IU was the conclusion of three JAMA studies
1000 IU recommended in France and Finland – 2013 - appears to be a good level - 5X less mite allergy after add vitamin D
- Child bone fractures with low vitamin D were 55X more likely to need surgery
- 75 % of SIDS had low vitamin D
- Children stayed in ICU 3.5 days longer if low vitamin D – Dec 2015
- 5 out of 6 children who died in pediatric critical care unit had low vitamin D – May 2014
- Infants have gotten free 400 IU of vitamin D in Turkey since 2005, More for longer would be even better – Feb 2022
- Preemies should have vitamin D supplements – reaching an agreement – April 2021
- Vitamin D loading dose was as effective as daily dosing (rickets in this case) – RCT July 2021
Having a good level of vitamin D cuts in half the amount of:
- Asthma, Chronic illness, Doctor visits, Allergies, infection
Respiratory Tract Infection, Growing pains, Bed wetting
Need even more IUs of vitamin D to get a good level if;
- Have little vitamin D: premie, twin, mother did not get much sun access
- Get little vitamin D: dark skin, little access to sun
- Vitamin D is consumed faster than normal due to sickness
- Older (need at least 100 IU/kilogram, far more if obese)
- Not get any vitamin D from formula (breast fed) or (fortified) milk
Note – formula does not even provide 400 IU of vitamin D daily
Infants-Children need Vitamin D
- Sun is great – well known for 1,000’s of years.
US govt (1934) even said infants should be out in the sun - One country recommended 2,000 IU daily for decades – with no known problems
- As with adults, infants and children can have loading doses and rarely need tests
- Daily dose appears to be best, but monthly seems OK
- Vitamin D is typically given to infants in the form of drops
big difference in taste between brands
can also use water-soluable form of vitamin D in milk, food, juice, - Infants have evolved to get a big boost of vitamin D immediately after birth
Colostrum has 3X more vitamin D than breast milk - provided the mother has any vitamin D to spare - 100 IU per kg of infant July 2011, Poland etc.
More than 100 IU/kg is probably better
We assessed the effect of vitamin D supplementation on related biochemistry, infection and dentition of the infant. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in Lucknow, India (latitude 26°N), 230 mother -newborn pairs were randomised to receive, for 9 months, 3000µg/month oral vitamin D3 by the mother (group A) or 10 µg/d by the infant (group B ) or double placebo (group C).
All babies received 15 min of sun exposure (unclothed) during massage.
Infants' median 25-hydroxyvitamin D ( 25(OH)D) was lower in group C (median 45·3; interquartile range (IQR) 22-59·5 nmol/l) than in groups A (median 60·8; IQR 41·3-80·5 nmol/l (P7.5µkat/l) was significantly more frequent in group C babies (16 %) than in group A (4 %) or group B (0 %) babies. The number of days with respiratory or diarrhoeal infection by 9 months of age was higher in group C (median 46·5; IQR 14·8-73·3 d) than in group A (median 18·5; IQR 8·8-31·0 d (P<0·01)) or group B (median 13·0; IQR 7·0-28·5 (P<0·05)). We conclude that monthly maternal or daily infant supplementation with vitamin D along with sun exposure is superior to sun exposure alone in maintaining normal infant 25(OH)D at 3·5 months, and provide protection from elevated alkaline phosphatase and infectious morbidity.
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