Prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in young African children.
Mogire RM., Morovat A., Muriuki JM., Mentzer AJ., Webb EL., Kimita W., Ndungu FM., Macharia AW., Cutland CL., Sirima SB., Diarra A., Tiono AB., Lule SA., Madhi SA., Sandhu MS., Prentice AM., Bejon P., Pettifor JM., Elliott AM., Adeyemo A., Williams TN., Atkinson SH.
BACKGROUND: Children living in sub-Saharan Africa have a high burden of rickets and infectious diseases, conditions that are linked to vitamin D deficiency. However, data on the vitamin D status of young African children and its environmental and genetic predictors are limited. We aimed to examine the prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in young African children. METHODS: We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and typed the single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs4588 and rs7041, in the GC gene encoding the vitamin D binding protein (DBP) in 4509 children aged 0-8 years living in Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso, The Gambia and South Africa. We evaluated associations between vitamin D status and country, age, sex, season, anthropometric indices, inflammation, malaria and DBP haplotypes in regression analyses. RESULTS: Median age was 23.9 months (interquartile range [IQR] 12.3, 35.9). Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency using 25(OH)D cut-offs of