{"title":"Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Biplab Pal, Agripina Cletus Temba, Vaibhav Chaudhary, Sweta Kumari, Bhavya Sharma","doi":"10.1016/j.nupar.2025.06.001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Vitamin D is essential for bone health, calcium metabolism, and immune function. Despite ample sunlight, vitamin D deficiency is common among Indian children and adolescents due to limited sun exposure and poor dietary intake. This review measured the pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and serum vitamin D levels in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents (≤<!--> <!-->18 years).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div><span><span>A literature search was done in PubMed, </span>Embase, </span>Scopus, and Google Scholar for studies published up to September 2024. Eligible studies reported serum vitamin D levels and/or the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. Data analysis was done by RStudio using a random-effects model to estimate the pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and mean serum vitamin D levels.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 23 cross-sectional studies with 38,762 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<<!--> <!-->20<!--> <!-->ng/ml) was 66.4% (95% CI: 59.0; 73.2). The pooled mean serum vitamin D level was 18.57<!--> <!-->ng/ml (95% CI: 15.46; 21.68). The highest prevalence was observed in Northern India (84.1%). Females (72.0%) had a higher deficiency rate than males (63.9%). Studies with larger sample sizes (><!--> <!-->400 participants) reported a prevalence of 77.7%, whereas studies with smaller sample sizes (≤<!--> <!-->400 participants) showed 53.8%.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health concern among Indian children and adolescents. Urgent interventions, such as food fortification, awareness campaigns, and supplementation programs, are needed to mitigate this issue.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54702,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Clinique et Metabolisme","volume":"39 3","pages":"Pages 154-163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nutrition Clinique et Metabolisme","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0985056225000494","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, calcium metabolism, and immune function. Despite ample sunlight, vitamin D deficiency is common among Indian children and adolescents due to limited sun exposure and poor dietary intake. This review measured the pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and serum vitamin D levels in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents (≤ 18 years).
Methods
A literature search was done in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar for studies published up to September 2024. Eligible studies reported serum vitamin D levels and/or the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. Data analysis was done by RStudio using a random-effects model to estimate the pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and mean serum vitamin D levels.
Results
A total of 23 cross-sectional studies with 38,762 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) was 66.4% (95% CI: 59.0; 73.2). The pooled mean serum vitamin D level was 18.57 ng/ml (95% CI: 15.46; 21.68). The highest prevalence was observed in Northern India (84.1%). Females (72.0%) had a higher deficiency rate than males (63.9%). Studies with larger sample sizes (> 400 participants) reported a prevalence of 77.7%, whereas studies with smaller sample sizes (≤ 400 participants) showed 53.8%.
Conclusion
Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health concern among Indian children and adolescents. Urgent interventions, such as food fortification, awareness campaigns, and supplementation programs, are needed to mitigate this issue.
期刊介绍:
Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme is the journal of the French-speaking Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition. Associating clinicians, biologists, pharmacists, and fundamentalists, the articles presented in the journal concern man and animals, and deal with organs and cells. The goal is a better understanding of the effects of artificial nutrition and human metabolism. Original articles, general reviews, update articles, technical notes and communications are published, as well as editorials and case reports.