@article {Weiler757, author = {Hope Weiler and Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong and Rebecca Veitch and Heather Kovacs and Jeannine Schellenberg and Ursula McCloy and Chui Kin Yuen}, title = {Vitamin D deficiency and whole-body and femur bone mass relative to weight in healthy newborns}, volume = {172}, number = {6}, pages = {757--761}, year = {2005}, doi = {10.1503/cmaj.1040508}, publisher = {CMAJ}, abstract = {Background: Vitamin D is required for normal bone growth and mineralization. We sought to determine whether vitamin D deficiency at birth is associated with bone mineral content (BMC) of Canadian infants. Methods: We measured plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] as an indicator of vitamin D status in 50 healthy mothers and their newborn term infants. In the infants, anthropometry and lumbar, femur and whole-body BMC were measured within 15 days of delivery. Mothers completed a 24-hour recall and 3-day food and supplement record. We categorized the vitamin D status of mothers and infants as deficient or adequate and then compared infant bone mass in these groups using nonpaired t tests. Maternal and infant variables known to be related to bone mass were tested for their relation to BMC using backward stepwise regression analysis. Results: Twenty-three (46\%) of the mothers and 18 (36\%) of the infants had a plasma 25(OH)D concentration consistent with deficiency. Infants who were vitamin D deficient were larger at birth and follow-up. Absolute lumbar spine, femur and whole-body BMC were not different between infants with adequate vitamin D and those who were deficient, despite larger body size in the latter group. In the regression analysis, higher whole-body BMC was associated with greater gestational age and weight at birth as well as higher infant plasma 25(OH)D. Conclusion: A high rate of vitamin D deficiency was observed among women and their newborn infants. Among infants, vitamin D deficiency was associated with greater weight and length but lower bone mass relative to body weight. Whether a return to normal vitamin D status, achieved through supplements or fortified infant formula, can reset the trajectory for acquisition of BMC requires investigation.}, issn = {0820-3946}, URL = {https://www.cmaj.ca/content/172/6/757}, eprint = {https://www.cmaj.ca/content/172/6/757.full.pdf}, journal = {CMAJ} }