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According to the BBC's Health News (26/06/06) young children in Bradford, UK are being given free vitamin D supplements after research by Dr Shirley Brierley indicated that many were deficient in the vitamin.
Dr Brierley tested 800 children in the City of Bradford between 2000 and 2004 and found that 90% were vitamin D deficient or depleted. The worst affected groups were South Asian children, especially girls and teenagers. From a further 60 children who attended hospital in 2003/2004 for other conditions, who were also tested, one third had rickets. Twelve children in this group were so severely affected that they had to be admitted to hospital for treatment for rickets or a serious lack of calcium. According to Brierley, paediatricians in the area had become increasingly concerned at the number of cases of rickets which were presenting themselves, believing that they represented only a small percentage of the children actually affected by vitamin D deficiency.
Now the Bradford City Teaching Primary Care Trust has committed £50,000 to a campaign to raise awareness of the problem, which includes a DVD explaining the importance of vitamin D, and how to ensure that healthy levels are maintained, both through exposure to sunlight and from the diet. It is noted that although breastfeeding is recommended for all babies, an infant may be at risk if the mother has a low level of vitamin D herself. (Also from ThisisBradford.co.uk).
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