Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation during pregnancy may reduce risk of Rickets among infants: Study
A recent study conducted in Bangladesh highlights the crucial role of maternal vitamin D supplementation to prevent infantile rickets in regions lacking routine infant vitamin D supplementation. This secondary analysis published in the Pediatrics journal revealed strong findings regarding the dosage and timing of vitamin D supplementation.
In low- and middle-income countries where routine infant vitamin D supplementation is not standard practice, the concerns regarding infantile rickets have remained. Rickets is a softening and weakening of bones in children that leads to serious health complications if left untreated. And so, Maria-Elena Lautatzis and colleagues investigated the impact of maternal vitamin D supplementation on infantile rickets risk.
The study included a total of 1300 pregnant women who were randomized into various groups receiving different doses of vitamin D supplementation or placebos. The supplementation regimens ranged from 4200 IU to 28,000 IU per week and was administered from the second trimester of pregnancy until delivery and continued postpartum.
Also, the infants born to these women underwent biochemical screening for rickets between 6 to 12 months of age. The results were promising, that among the 790 infants screened, approximately 4.9% were diagnosed with biochemical rickets. Which observed the highest prevalence of rickets in the placebo group, at 7.8%.
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