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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265553
Title: Relationship of calcium absorption with 25(OH)D and calcium intake in children with rickets

Author
item THACHER, T - Mayo Clinic
item ABRAMS, STEVEN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Nutrition Reviews
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/14/2010
Publication Date: 11/1/2010
Citation: Thacher, T.D., Abrams, S.A. 2010. Relationship of calcium absorption with 25(OH)D and calcium intake in children with rickets. Nutrition Reviews. 68(11):682-688.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Nutritional rickets has long been considered a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, but recent data indicate that inadequate dietary calcium intake is an important cause of rickets, particularly in tropical countries. Children with rickets due to calcium deficiency do not have very low 25(OH) D concentrations, and serum 1, 25(OH) (2) D values are markedly elevated. Studies of Nigerian children with rickets demonstrated they have high fractional calcium absorption. A high-phytate diet was demonstrated to increase calcium absorption compared with the fasting state, and enzymatic dephytinization did not significantly improve calcium absorption. When given vitamin D, children with rickets have a marked increase in 1, 25(OH) (2) D concentrations without any change in fractional calcium absorption. No positive relationship was found between fractional calcium absorption and serum 25(OH) D concentrations in children on low-calcium diets. More research is needed to understand the interaction between calcium and vitamin D and the role of vitamin D in calcium absorption.