ARS | Publication request: Vitamin D deficiency and calcium absorption during childhood

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 2010
Publication Date: May 1, 2011
Citation: Abrams, S.A. 2011. Vitamin D deficiency and calcium absorption during childhood. In: Feldman, D., Pike, J.W., Adams, J.S., editors. Vitamin D. Third Edition. Volume 1. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. p. 647-656.

Technical Abstract: Although the importance of providing adequate calcium and vitamin D during childhood and adolescent growth is well known, there remain important gaps in our understanding regarding the process of calcium absorption and utilization in childhood. Certain time periods in development appear to be critical ones in which calcium and vitamin D deficiency can pose very high risks. The first such time period is in utero, or as commonly reflected in current medical care, the initial months of life of prematurely delivered infants. Preterm infants, especially those <1.5 kg at birth, are at very high risk for the development of clinical rickets or other manifestations of bone loss. The bone mineral deficiency is primarily related to difficulties in providing, via parenteral or enteral sources, adequate calcium and phosphorus for the extremely rapid bone growth that normally occurs via placental transfer to the fetus.