Assessment of vitamin d supply of vegetarian children

Introduction. The popularity of restrictive diets is trending upward in most countries of the world. The use of vegetarian diets in children is of concern to experts since a deficiency of certain nutrients can lead to delayed psychomotor and physical development of a child. It has been proven that currently 30-50% of the population of Europe and North America has a low supply of vitamin D.

Methods. 58 school-age children following a lacto-vegetarian diet were examined. The control group consisted of 30 healthy children who did not adhere to dietary restrictions. Vitamin D status was assessed by determining calcidiol in blood serum: calcidiol concentration >30 ng/ml – adequate vitamin D level, 21–29 ng/ml – insufficiency, 11-20 ng/ml – deficiency.

Results. In children following a lacto-vegetarian diet, the ratio of children with vitamin D insufficiency was 62.1%. Normal vitamin D levels were found only in 20.7%. Vitamin D deficiency in vegetarian children was found in 17.2%. In the control group, children with normal vitamin D levels predominated – 83.3%. The ratio of children with vitamin D insufficiency in the control group was 16.7%. Vitamin D deficiency was not detected in the control group. In vegetarian children the average value of calcidiol level was 25.3 ng/ml, which is statistically significantly lower (p<0.001) relative to children in the control group – 33.7 ng/ml.

Conclusion. Thus, children who follow a lacto-vegetarian diet are characterized by the presence of vitamin D insufficiency.

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