Intake of vitamin D by Finnish children aged 3 months to 3 years in relation to sociodemographic factors

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition 2006-11, Vol.60 (11), p.1317-1322
• Main Authors: Räsänen, M, Kronberg-Kippilä, C, Ahonen, S, Uusitalo, L, Kautiainen, S, Erkkola, M, Veijola, R, Knip, M, Kaila, M, Virtanen, S.M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age Distribution; Babies; Baby foods; Biological and medical sciences; Calciferol; Child, Preschool; Children; Clinical Nutrition; Cohort Studies; Demographics; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - prevention & control; Diet; Diet Records; Dietary intake; Dietary supplements; Dietary Supplements - statistics & numerical data; Dietary Supplements - utilization; Educational Status; Eggs; Epidemiology; Families & family life; Family Characteristics; Female; Finland; Finnish Type I Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Nutrition Study; Food; Food consumption; Food intake; food record; Food sources; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Infant; Infants; insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; Internal Medicine; Male; Margarine; Maternal Age; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; nutrient intake; Nutrition; nutrition assessment; nutritional status; original-article; Parents - education; Parents - psychology; Preschool children; Prevention; Public Health; questionnaires; Social Class; sociodemographic characteristics; sociodemographic factor; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomics; supplement; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - administration & dosage; vitamin D intake; vitamin supplements; young children
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602459

Objective: To study the total daily intake of vitamin D from food and supplements among Finnish children aged 3 months to 3 years, the dietary sources of vitamin D and the association between vitamin D intake and sociodemographic factors. Subjects and methods: The subjects are participants in the Finnish Type I Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Nutrition Study born between October 1997 and October 1998. At the age of 3 and 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years, 342 (72% of the invited families), 298 (63%), 267 (56%), 233 (49%) and 209 (44%) families, respectively, participated in the present study. Food consumption was assessed by a 3-day food record. A structured questionnaire was used to record the parents' socioeconomic status. Results: The mean dietary vitamin D intake exceeded the recommendation (10 micrograms/day) at the age of 3 (11.0 micrograms) and 6 months (12.0 micrograms), but decreased thereafter being 9.8, 5.0 and 4.1 micrograms at 1, 2 and 3 years of age, respectively. Among the children 91, 91, 81, 42 and 26% used vitamin D supplements at the age of 3 and 6 months, and 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively. In children not using vitamin D supplements, vitamin D intake was less than 10 micrograms/day at all ages. Vitamin D intake from food did not differ in children who used and did not use vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D supplements were the main source of vitamin D intake in all age groups studied, followed by vitamin D-fortified infant formula in 3-month-olds and infant formula and baby foods in 6-month-olds. After the age of 1 year, the most important food sources of vitamin D were margarine, fish, baby foods, low-fat milk and eggs. Sociodemographic factors, especially the number of children in the family and maternal age, were associated with the total vitamin D intake and vitamin D supplement use. Conclusion: Vitamin D supplements are not used according to the dietary recommendations in a substantial proportion of Finnish children.