Vitamin D is primarily produced in the skin after exposure to sunlight and is essential for calcium absorption and may be important to numerous other body processes. In this study, Kumar and colleagues investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among U.S. children and whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular risk factors. The researchers analyzed data for nearly 10,000 children from the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative survey of the U.S. population where participants were interviewed and given physical examinations. In analyzing the data, Kumar and colleagues found that 9% of 1- to 21-year-old children were vitamin D deficient, representing 7.6 million U.S. children, and 61% were vitamin D insufficient, representing 50.8 million U.S. children. In examining factors associated with vitamin D deficiency, researchers found that children who were older, female, non-Hispanic black or Mexican American, obese, drank milk less than once a week, did not take vitamin D supplements, and were engaged in more than 4 hours of screen time a day, were more likely to be vitamin D deficient. In addition, Kumar and colleagues found that vitamin D deficiency was associated with a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including higher systolic blood pressure and higher lipoprotein cholesterol, when compared to children without vitamin D deficiency.
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