Family-related factors may affect serum vitamin D levels

Vitamin D deficiency in childhood is a re-emerging public health problem. Epidemiological studies have shown that it can lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults and may play a role in a variety of extraskeletal disorders, including asthma, type 1 diabetes, infectious and cardiovascular diseases and cancer (1). Vitamin D deficiency is identified by measuring serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels and studies of levels between parents and their offspring, and among siblings, suggests the family environment may play a role (2). Other risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include adiposity and female gender (3, 4). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.