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Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in the U.S. population (JW Gen Med Dec 31 2009) and Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in U.S. children, especially among blacks (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Nov 4 2009). Two reports extend our understanding of vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents.
Investigators at a pediatric medical center in Washington DC measured vitamin D status in 92 black children (mean age, 11 years) with physician-diagnosed asthma and 21 without asthma (mean age, 7 years). Black children with asthma were significantly more likely to have deficient vitamin D levels (plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <20 ng/mL) than black children without asthma (54% vs. 5%).
Investigators in Georgia examined vitamin D status in 559 adolescents …