Diet, clothing, sunshine exposure and micronutrient status of Arab infantsand young children

Vitamin C and D levels in Arab women and their newborn infants have been sh own to be low. We investigated the prevalence of and risk factors for possi ble hypovitaminosis C and D in a convenience sample of 51 hospitalized chil dren without clinical features of vitamin C or D deficiency. The mean age w as 15.4 months. The serum vitamin C concentration was low in the mothers bu t normal in the children. Both mothers and children had low serum 25-hydrox yvitamin D (25-OHD) concentrations. Fifty per cent of the mothers and 22% o f the infants and children had hypovitaminosis D (serum 25-OHD level <25 nm ol/l). Infants who received dietary vitamin D supplementation had a higher mean (SD) serum 25-OHD concentration than the unsupplemented group (62.5 (2 9.8) vs 38.5 (27.3), p=001). Cutaneous light exposure in these children was poor. The children's serum 25-OHD concentration correlated with dietary vi tamin D supplementation and maternal serum 25-OHD levels. The results sugge st normal vitamin C status but a possible high prevalence of hypovitaminosi s D in Arab children and their mothers in UAE. Health education to encourag e greater sunshine exposure and improvement in maternal vitamin D stores an d the availability of adequate vitamin D supplements would improve children 's vitamin D status. The study indicates that hypovitaminosis D continues t o be an important maternal and child health problem, despite the abundant s unshine.