Vitamin D prophylaxis during infancy: comparison of the long-term effects of three intermittent doses (15, 5, or 2.5 mg) on 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase activities were measured from birth to 6-9 mo of age in 60 healthy neonates to assess the effectiveness and potential toxicity of three intermittent oral doses of cholecalciferol. Two weeks after a first dose of 15, 5, or 2.5 mg, 25(OH)D concentrations reached 307 +/- 160, 150 +/- 55, and 92 +/- 42 nmol/L, respectively.

[Deficiency rickets: the current situation in France and Algeria].

Persisting vitamin D deficiency rickets in France results from the climatic, environmental and geographic situation of this country. Although systematic administration of vitamin D supplements to infants greatly reduced the prevalence of rickets among infants, clinical and/or biological signs of vitamin D deficiency are still found in children and adolescents, mainly during the winter and in populations vulnerable for economic, cultural or religious reasons. Signs of vitamin D deficiency are also found, during the winter-spring seasons, in pregnant women and their newborns living in urban areas.