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Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application

The aim of this study was to characterize the prevalence and seasonal variation of vitamin D (vit D) deficiency/insufficiency in healthy children and adolescents in Greece, and to explore its relationship with the use of sunscreens. The serum level of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured in 3...

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Autores principales: Feketea, Gavriela Maria, Bocsan, Ioana Corina, Tsiros, Georgios, Voila, Panagiota, Stanciu, Luminita Aurelia, Zdrenghea, Mihnea
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7914486/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33562659
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children8020111
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author Feketea, Gavriela Maria
Bocsan, Ioana Corina
Tsiros, Georgios
Voila, Panagiota
Stanciu, Luminita Aurelia
Zdrenghea, Mihnea
author_facet Feketea, Gavriela Maria
Bocsan, Ioana Corina
Tsiros, Georgios
Voila, Panagiota
Stanciu, Luminita Aurelia
Zdrenghea, Mihnea
author_sort Feketea, Gavriela Maria
collection PubMed
description The aim of this study was to characterize the prevalence and seasonal variation of vitamin D (vit D) deficiency/insufficiency in healthy children and adolescents in Greece, and to explore its relationship with the use of sunscreens. The serum level of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured in 376 children and adolescents (184 males and 192 females) with a mean age of 7.6 ± 4.9 years, at different time points over a period of 13 months. The prevalence of low serum 25(OH)D level, including deficiency and insufficiency, was 66.2%. The lowest mean 25(OH)D was observed in the month of January (17.9 ± 6.8 ng/mL) and the highest in September, July, August, and October (34.6 ± 8.7, 33.0 ± 9.4, 30.1 ± 8.2, and 30.1 ± 10.6 ng/mL, respectively). Higher levels of serum 25(OH)D were detected in the children to whom sunscreens had been applied on the beach (p = 0.001) or off the beach (p < 0.001). The subjects with deficiency and insufficiency were significantly older than those with normal levels of 25(OH)D, but no significant differences were demonstrated according to gender. This study emphasizes the high prevalence of low serum levels of 25(OH)D and their seasonal variation in children living in a region characterized by many hours of sunshine. Our data suggest that the real-life use of sunscreens during the summer months allows sufficient sunlight to be received to enable production of vit D at a level adequate to maintain normal serum levels. Vit D supplements should be given to children during the months of lower sun exposure.
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spelling pubmed-79144862021-03-01 Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application Feketea, Gavriela Maria Bocsan, Ioana Corina Tsiros, Georgios Voila, Panagiota Stanciu, Luminita Aurelia Zdrenghea, Mihnea Children (Basel) Article The aim of this study was to characterize the prevalence and seasonal variation of vitamin D (vit D) deficiency/insufficiency in healthy children and adolescents in Greece, and to explore its relationship with the use of sunscreens. The serum level of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured in 376 children and adolescents (184 males and 192 females) with a mean age of 7.6 ± 4.9 years, at different time points over a period of 13 months. The prevalence of low serum 25(OH)D level, including deficiency and insufficiency, was 66.2%. The lowest mean 25(OH)D was observed in the month of January (17.9 ± 6.8 ng/mL) and the highest in September, July, August, and October (34.6 ± 8.7, 33.0 ± 9.4, 30.1 ± 8.2, and 30.1 ± 10.6 ng/mL, respectively). Higher levels of serum 25(OH)D were detected in the children to whom sunscreens had been applied on the beach (p = 0.001) or off the beach (p < 0.001). The subjects with deficiency and insufficiency were significantly older than those with normal levels of 25(OH)D, but no significant differences were demonstrated according to gender. This study emphasizes the high prevalence of low serum levels of 25(OH)D and their seasonal variation in children living in a region characterized by many hours of sunshine. Our data suggest that the real-life use of sunscreens during the summer months allows sufficient sunlight to be received to enable production of vit D at a level adequate to maintain normal serum levels. Vit D supplements should be given to children during the months of lower sun exposure. MDPI 2021-02-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7914486/ /pubmed/33562659 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children8020111 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Feketea, Gavriela Maria
Bocsan, Ioana Corina
Tsiros, Georgios
Voila, Panagiota
Stanciu, Luminita Aurelia
Zdrenghea, Mihnea
Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title_full Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title_fullStr Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title_full_unstemmed Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title_short Vitamin D Status in Children in Greece and Its Relationship with Sunscreen Application
title_sort vitamin d status in children in greece and its relationship with sunscreen application
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7914486/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33562659
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children8020111
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