Infant muscle development best with 400 IU of vitamin D (not 800) – Sept 2015

Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Gross Motor Development of Healthy Term Infants: A Randomized Dose-Response Trial.

Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2015 Sep 1:1-13. [Epub ahead of print]
Wicklow B1, Gallo S, Majnemer A, Vanstone C, Comeau K, Jones G, L'Abbe M, Khamessan A, Sharma A, Weiler H, Rodd C.
1a The Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada.

In addition to benefits for bone health, vitamin D is implicated in muscle function in children and adults.

AIMS: To determine if vitamin D dosage positively correlated with gross motor development at 3 and 6 months of age. We hypothesized that higher doses would be associated with higher scores for gross motor skills.

METHODS: A consecutive sample of 55 healthy, term, and breastfed infants from Montreal, Canada were recruited from a randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation between 2009 and 2012. Infants were randomized to 400 International Units (IU) (n = 19), 800 IU (n = 18) or 1,200 IU (n = 18) vitamin D3/day. Motor performance at 3 and 6 months was quantified by the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). Plasma vitamin D3 metabolites were measured by tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS: AIMS scores did not differ at 3 months. However, total AIMS scores and sitting subscores were significantly higher at 6 months in infants receiving 400 IU/day compared to 800 IU/day and 1,200 IU/day groups (p < .05). There were weak negative correlations with length and C-3 epimer of 25(OH)D.

CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to our hypothesis, gross motor achievements were significantly higher in infants receiving 400 IU/day vitamin D. Our findings also support longer infants being slightly delayed.

PMID: 26325246

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I do not recall seeing a problem with infants getting higher levels of vitamin D before

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