Vitamin D level and indicators of bone tissue metabolism in kazakh infants

BACKGROUND: Insufficiency and deficiency of vitamin D are recorded in a significant part of the population. Vitamin D, along with the formation of bone tissue, is included in all types of metabolism, determining the growth and development of the body, immunity, and the normal development of the nervous system. The consequences of deficiency can be long-term and in some cases irreversible. The problem of deficiency in infants is not well understood.

AIM: To determine the content of vitamin D and indicators of bone metabolism in children of the first year of life of the Kazakh population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 250 infants of the Kazakh population were examined. The content of vitamin D in the blood was determined. The state of bone metabolism was assessed by the results of a blood test to determine the serum concentration of calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, calcitonin, and in the urine — deoxypyridinoline.

RESULTS: There is a wide prevalence (77.8%) of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency in children under one year old in the Kazakh population. The greatest decrease in vitamin D was found in newborns. Statistically significant differences were found in the levels of bone metabolism indicators, such as total calcium, phosphorus, calcitonin and osteocalcin in different age groups. Indicators of bone metabolism, such as total calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, depend on the degree of decrease in vitamin D levels. The most sensitive indicator that responds to changes in vitamin D levels is osteocalcin. The level of serum vitamin D can be used as a marker for the preclinical diagnosis of metabolic disorders of bone homeostasis in children.

CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the effect of vitamin D on metabolic processes in the skeletal system. The most sensitive indicator that responds to changes in vitamin D levels is osteocalcin. Research in this direction may be the basis for discussing the feasibility of vitamin D substitution and clarifying prenatal care schemes.