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Vitamin D can either be synthesized by the body using UVB light and exposure to sunlight or by being absorbed via the digestive system from certain foods.
Vitamin D has an important role in facilitating calcium absorption from the gut and maintaining calcium homeostasis. So any deficiency in vitamin D can contribute to several orthopedic conditions, including SUFE, Perthes, Osteomalacia and fragility fractures,1 it can also negatively affects several tissues, including the brain, colon, and immune system. Vitamin D deficiency is also shown to be connected with development of several diseases.2
Deficiency in Vitamin D can cause:
- Pain: especially lower limb long bone pain that might wake the child up from sleep at night
- Deformity: genu valgum, genu varum or growth retardation
- Development: delay in walking
- Muscle: aches, pains or weakness
- Calcium imbalance: tetany, cardiomyopathy and seizures
If you notice any of these presentations in your child’s body, you must consult the doctor the soonest.1
Dr. Nabil Hajj Hassan
Pediatrician
