Vitamin D deficiency in South-East Asian children: a systematic review

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence and determinants of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) among healthy children aged between 0 and 18 years living in South-East Asia (SEA).DesignWe systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid EMBASE for observational studies assessing VDD among healthy children in the SEA region as the primary or secondary outcome from database inception to 6 April 2021. PubMed was used for e-pubs and publications not indexed in Medline. Publications that included abstracts in English were included. We performed a systematic review to describe the prevalence of VDD in SEA children.ResultsOur initial search identified 550 publications with an additional 2 publications from manual screening. Of those, 21 studies from 5 different countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia) were summarised and included in forest plots. The prevalence of VDD (<50 nmol/L) ranged from 0.9% to 96.4%, with >50% of newborns having VDD, and severe VDD (<30 nmol/L) ranged from 0% to 55.8%. Female sex and urban living were the most common determinants of VDD.ConclusionsVDD among healthy children living in the SEA region is common. Efforts to detect VDD and the implementation of preventive measures, including education on safe sun exposure and oral vitamin D supplementation or food fortification, should be considered for key target groups, including adolescent females and pregnant and lactating women to improve the vitamin D status of newborns.Protocol registration numberThis study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020181600).

The Role of Vitamin D On Interferon- Levels in Indonesian Children with Down Syndrome And Its Contributing Factors: A Cross-sectional Study

“…VD de ciency (VDD) affects as many as 1 billion people globally 18 . A meta-analysis and systematic review of 21 studies from ve different countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia) reported a prevalence of VDD (< 50 nmol/L) ranging from 0.9-96.4%, with > 50% of newborns having VDD, and a prevalence of severe VDD (< 30 nmol/L) ranging from 0-55.8% 19 . Children in Indonesia, which is located on the equator and has year-round sun exposure, had lower VD levels than those in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.…”

Pseudotumor cerebri with status epilepticus in a child: A rare presentation of vitamin D deficiency

“…The study inferred that the prevalence of hypovitaminosis was 85% in neonates, 55% in the age group 1 month to 5 years, and 57% in the age group 6–18 years 11 . In another study on vitamin D deficiency in South‐East Asia region children, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency ranged from 0.9% to 96.4% with female sex and urban living being the most common determinants 12 …”

“…11 In another study on vitamin D deficiency in South-East Asia region children, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency ranged from 0.9% to 96.4% with female sex and urban living being the most common determinants. 12 Vitamin D deficiency can present as rickets in infants and children and osteomalacia in all age groups to tetany and seizures associated with hypocalcemia. One of the rarer manifestations of its deficiency is a syndrome known as PTC which refers to a spectrum of clinical features of raised intracranial pressure without focal neurological deficit.…”

Vitamin D deficiency is a public health emergency among Indonesian children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence

“…Based on the calculated numbers, 29,167 Indonesian children are currently suffering from hypovitaminosis D. This rate is higher than that of adolescent girls in India (25.7%) [ 51 ], African children (10.55%) [ 52 ], and European children (4%–7%) [ 9 ] but lower than rates reported for children in Afghanistan (96.2%) and Pakistan (94%) [ 16 ]. The most recent systematic review of the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among 5 Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia) reported a prevalence range from 0.9% to 96.4% [ 53 ]. However, almost all studies conducted to date have implemented different vitamin D cutoffs to determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, complicating direct comparison.…”