Posted on 05/01/2011 6:08:29 PM PDT by decimon
News tips from the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, April 30-May 3, Denver, Colo.
Pediatricians from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere have discovered a link between low levels of vitamin D and anemia in children.
The findings, presented on May 1 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Denver, Colo., show that vitamin D deficiency may play an important role in anemia.
Anemia, which occurs when the body has too few oxygen-carrying red blood cells, is diagnosed and tracked by measuring hemoglobin levels. Symptoms of mild anemia include fatigue, lightheadedness and low energy. Severe and prolonged anemia can damage vital organs by depriving them of oxygen.
To examine the relationship between hemoglobin and vitamin D, the researchers looked at data from the blood samples of more than 9,400 children, 2 to 18 years of age. The lower the vitamin D levels, the lower the hemoglobin and the higher the risk for anemia, the researchers found. Children with levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) of blood had a 50 percent higher risk for anemia than children with levels 20 ng/ml and above. For each 1 ng/ml increase in vitamin D, anemia risk dropped by 3 percent.
Only 1 percent of white children had anemia, compared with 9 percent of black children. Black children also had, on average, much lower vitamin D levels (18) than white children (27). Researchers have long known that anemia is more common in black children, but the reasons for this remain unclear, although some suspect that biologic and genetic factors may be at play.
The new findings, however, suggest that low vitamin D levels in black children may be an important contributor to anemia.
"The striking difference between black and white children in vitamin D levels and hemoglobin gives us an interesting clue that definitely calls for a further study," said lead investigator Meredith Atkinson, M.D., M.H.S., a pediatric nephrologist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
While the findings show a clear link between low vitamin D levels and anemia, they do not prove that vitamin D deficiency causes anemia, the investigators caution.
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Other institutions involved in the research were Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of New York.
Ping
Which forms of vitamin D were they testing for? There are more than one, D3 and D6 mainly.
I've been called 'sunshine' but with more than a touch of sarcasm. ;-)
Interesting....but, why do boys seems to have anemia more than girls when they are young? (That’s what I’ve observed.)
This article doesn't say so I don't know.
There are more than one, D3 and D6 mainly.
As supplement, I'm familiar with D2 and D3. D2 used to be the common supplement but has been replaced by D3 as D3 is the form we make naturally and is so thought to be better utilized. I recently posted something with the opinion that D2 may be as beneficial as D3.
That summarizes my readings on the matter.
Tried to edit my incorrect response in post #7. This info, even speculation, is great. Bump.
Yeah, it's always good to preempt the detractors. ;-)
I think it's the puppy dogs tails.
I wonder if sitting indoors, playing video games and sucking down the Mountain Dew, has anything to do with this?
Could be, but then rickets was a common problem before they began fortifying foods with vitamin D.
I'm currently taking 5000IU of vitamin D daily. My multi-vitamin-mineral-whatever pill has no large dosages as I want it to be a supplement for what I might be missing and not a replacement. I might change my mind later but that's what I'm currently doing.
You gonna answer my question? Which form of D?
How long have you been doing that? Be careful you may end up with Kidney stones.
I answered in post #9. I don't know because the article doesn't say and it has no link to any source.
They’ve said for years 15 min of sunlight a day gives you enough Vit D, kids play outside, so what about that fact?
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