Down syndrome children have low vitamin D levels, 400 IU not enough to help – Feb 2015


Down syndrome children (Trisomy 21) - 2 out of 3 had less than 20 ng of vitamin D – Aug 2018

Determinants of vitamin d levels in children and adolescents with down syndrome- 2015

Int J Endocrinol. 2015;2015:896758. doi: 10.1155/2015/896758. Epub 2015 Jan 20.
Stagi S1, Lapi E2, Romano S2, Bargiacchi S2, Brambilla A1, Giglio S2, Seminara S1, de Martino M1.
1Health Sciences Department, Anna Meyer Children's University Hospital, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy.
2Genetics and Molecular Medicine Unit, Anna Meyer Children's University Hospital, Viale Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy.


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Background. Poor studies have evaluated 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D) levels in Down syndrome (DS). Objective. To assess in DS subjects serum 25(OH)D value, to identify risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, and to evaluate whether a normal 25(OH)D value can be restored with a 400 I.U. daily supplement of cholecalciferol in respect to controls.

Methods. We have longitudinally evaluated 31 DS patients (aged 4.5-18.9 years old) and 99 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In these subjects, we analysed calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25(OH)D concentrations, and calcium and 25(OH)D dietary intakes, and we quantified outdoor exposure. After 12.3 months (range 8.1-14.7 months) of 25(OH)D supplementation, we reevaluated these subjects.

Results. DS subjects showed reduced 25(OH)D levels compared to controls (P < 0.0001), in particular DS subjects with obesity (P < 0.05) and autoimmune diseases history (P < 0.005). PTH levels were significantly higher in DS subjects than controls (P < 0.0001).
After cholecalciferol supplementation, 25(OH)D levels were significantly ameliorated (P < 0.05), even if reduced compared to controls (P < 0.0001), in particular in DS subjects with obesity (P < 0.05) and autoimmune diseases (P < 0.001).

Conclusions. Hypovitaminosis D is very frequent in DS subjects, in particular in presence of obesity and autoimmune diseases. In these subjects, there could be a need for higher cholecalciferol supplementation.

PMID: 25685147  Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki.


Down syndrome patients have smaller bodies, increased risk of Osteoporosis, and lower Vitamin D levels - July 2017

Bone health in Down syndrome.
Med Clin (Barc). 2017 Jul 21;149(2):78-82. doi: 10.1016/j.medcli.2017.04.020. Epub 2017 May 30.
[Article in English, Spanish]
García-Hoyos M1, Riancho JA1, Valero C2.

Patients with Down syndrome have a number of risk factors that theoretically could predispose them to osteoporosis, such as

  • early aging,
  • development disorders,
  • reduced physical activity,
  • limited sun exposure,
  • frequent comorbidities and
  • use of drug therapies which could affect bone metabolism.

In addition, the bone mass of these people may be affected by their anthropometric and body composition peculiarities. In general terms, studies in adults with Down syndrome reported that these people have lower areal bone mineral density (g/cm2) than the general population. However, most of them have not taken the smaller bone size of people with Down syndrome into account. In fact, when body mineral density is adjusted by bone size and we obtain volumetric body mineral density (g/cm3), the difference between both populations disappears.
On the other hand, although people with Down syndrome have risk factor of hypovitaminosis D, the results of studies regarding 25(OH)D in this population are not clear. Likewise, the studies about biochemical bone markers or the prevalence of fractures are not conclusive.

PMID: 28571965 DOI: 10.1016/j.medcli.2017.04.020

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