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Very high vitamin D supplementation rates among infants aged 2 months in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Crocker, Barbara; Green, Tim J.; Barr, Susan I.; Beckingham, Bridgid; Bhagat, Radhika; Dabrowska, Beata; Douthwaite, Rachel; Evanson, Carmen; Friesen, Russell; Hydamaka, Kathy; et al.

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D deficiency during infancy may lead to rickets and possibly other poor health outcomes. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Breast milk is the best food for infants but does not contain adequate vitamin D. Health Canada recommends all breastfed infants receive a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU; however, there appears to be limited current Canadian data as to whether parents or caregivers are following this advice. The aim of this study was to determine the rates of vitamin D supplementation among 2-month old infants in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Methods Mothers of all healthy infants born between April and May 2010 were approached to participate. Telephone surveys were conducted with 577 mothers (response rate 56%) when their infants turned 2 months. Results Over half of the infants received only breast milk in the week prior to the survey. One third received a mixture of breast milk and infant formula and 10% received only formula. About 80% of the infants were supplemented with vitamin D at 2 months. Infants who received only breast milk were most likely to be supplemented with vitamin D (91%). Over 60% of the infants had a total vitamin D intake of 300- < 500 IU/d from supplements and formula and only 5% did not receive any vitamin D. Most parents were advised to give vitamin D supplement by health professionals, such as public health nurses, midwives, and doctors. Conclusions About 90% of the infants received breast milk at 2 months of age. The vitamin D supplementation rate was 80%. Future studies are needed to monitor breastfeeding duration and vitamin D supplementation rates as infants get older.

Item Metadata

Title
Very high vitamin D supplementation rates among infants aged 2 months in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Creator
Crocker, Barbara; Green, Tim J.; Barr, Susan I.; Beckingham, Bridgid; Bhagat, Radhika; Dabrowska, Beata; Douthwaite, Rachel; Evanson, Carmen; Friesen, Russell; Hydamaka, Kathy; Li, Wangyang; Simmons, Kelly; Tse, Lillian
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2011-12-07
Description
Background: Vitamin D deficiency during infancy may lead to rickets and possibly other poor health outcomes. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Breast milk is the best food for infants but does not contain adequate vitamin D. Health Canada recommends all breastfed infants receive a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU; however, there appears to be limited current Canadian data as to whether parents or caregivers are following this advice. The aim of this study was to determine the rates of vitamin D supplementation among 2-month old infants in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Methods Mothers of all healthy infants born between April and May 2010 were approached to participate. Telephone surveys were conducted with 577 mothers (response rate 56%) when their infants turned 2 months. Results Over half of the infants received only breast milk in the week prior to the survey. One third received a mixture of breast milk and infant formula and 10% received only formula. About 80% of the infants were supplemented with vitamin D at 2 months. Infants who received only breast milk were most likely to be supplemented with vitamin D (91%). Over 60% of the infants had a total vitamin D intake of 300- < 500 IU/d from supplements and formula and only 5% did not receive any vitamin D. Most parents were advised to give vitamin D supplement by health professionals, such as public health nurses, midwives, and doctors. Conclusions About 90% of the infants received breast milk at 2 months of age. The vitamin D supplementation rate was 80%. Future studies are needed to monitor breastfeeding duration and vitamin D supplementation rates as infants get older.
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2015-10-24
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0132628
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/55025
Affiliation
Land and Food Systems, Faculty of; Non UBC
Citation
BMC Public Health. 2011 Dec 07;11(1):905
Publisher DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-11-905
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Crocker et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)