Infants need 400 IU of vitamin D to prevent rickets – meta-analysis Feb 2019

• Preterm babies have low vitamin D, but recover in 6 weeks with 800 IU supplementation – Jan 2019
• Preemies need 1,000 IU of vitamin D – RCT Sept 2017
• Vitamin D needed to get children to just 20 ng in winter 800 IU white skin, 1100 IU dark (Sweden) – RCT June 2017
• Third study found that Infants needed 1600 IU of vitamin D – JAMA RCT May 2013

Infant-Child category starts with

• No consensus on MINIMUM International Units (IU) for healthy infant of normal weight
• 400 IU Vitamin D is no longer enough
  Was OK in the past century, but D levels have been dropping for a great many reasons.
  FDA doubles the amount of vitamin D permitted in milk – July 2016
• No consensus: range is 600 to 1600 IU – based on many randomized controlled trials
• Review of 400 IU to 2000 IU daily and higher if non-daily
• Fewer pre-infants were vitamin D deficient when they got 800 IU – RCT Feb 2014
• 1600 IU was the conclusion of three JAMA studies
     1000 IU recommended in France and Finland – 2013 - appears to be a good level
• 5X less mite allergy after add vitamin D
• Child bone fractures with low vitamin D were 55X more likely to need surgery
• 75 % of SIDS had low vitamin D
• Children stayed in ICU 3.5 days longer if low vitamin D – Dec 2015
• 5 out of 6 children who died in pediatric critical care unit had low vitamin D – May 2014
• Infants have gotten free 400 IU of vitamin D in Turkey since 2005, More for longer would be even better – Feb 2022
• Preemies should have vitamin D supplements – reaching an agreement – April 2021
• Vitamin D loading dose was as effective as daily dosing (rickets in this case) – RCT July 2021

Having a good level of vitamin D cuts in half the amount of:

• Asthma, Chronic illness, Doctor visits, Allergies, infection
  Respiratory Tract Infection, Growing pains, Bed wetting

Need even more IUs of vitamin D to get a good level if;

• Have little vitamin D: premie, twin, mother did not get much sun access
• Get little vitamin D: dark skin, little access to sun
• Vitamin D is consumed faster than normal due to sickness
• Older (need at least 100 IU/kilogram, far more if obese)
• Not get any vitamin D from formula (breast fed) or (fortified) milk
  Note – formula does not even provide 400 IU of vitamin D daily

Infants-Children need Vitamin D

• Sun is great – well known for 1,000’s of years.
  US govt (1934) even said infants should be out in the sun
• One country recommended 2,000 IU daily for decades – with no known problems
• As with adults, infants and children can have loading doses and rarely need tests
• Daily dose appears to be best, but monthly seems OK
• Vitamin D is typically given to infants in the form of drops
     big difference in taste between brands
     can also use water-soluable form of vitamin D in milk, food, juice,
• Infants have evolved to get a big boost of vitamin D immediately after birth
  Colostrum has 3X more vitamin D than breast milk - provided the mother has any vitamin D to spare
• 100 IU per kg of infant July 2011, Poland etc.
  
  More than 100 IU/kg is probably better

Overview of Rickets and vitamin D contains the following summary

Rate of rickets is usually < 0.1% of births, unless dark skin, breastfed, preemie, twin, Mongolian, or Russian
Rate of rickets has greatly increased with the drop in vitamin D levels during the past 40 years
400 IU can prevent/treat most rickets Turkey gave vitamin D to EVERY child and eliminated Rickets
Can have rickets without a low serum level of vitamin D (~20% of the time)
Giving enough Vitamin D to the mother (before and after birth) PREVENTS most forms of Rickets
Rate of rickets in some countries varies from 10% to 70% (typically poor health overall)
Rickets has been more than doubling in many countries
Rickets is strongly associated with severe breathing problems (weak ribs)
Bowed legs is not the primary indication of rickets    (3 other indications of rickets are seen more often)
Rickets is typically due to low cellular Vitamin D - April 2024
Some Rickets is due to poor genes - Vitamin D needed lifelong – June 2020
Vitamin D and Rickets consensus took 80 years