Objective: We quantified the prevalence of vitamin D status in 6-24-month-old underweight and normal-weight children and identified the socio-economic and dietary predictors for status.
Design: Cross-sectional, baseline data from a nutritional intervention study were analysed. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of being vitamin D deficient or insufficient with the reference being vitamin D sufficient.
Setting: Urban slum area of Mirpur field site, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Subjects: Underweight (weight-for-age Z-score <-2·00) and normal-weight (weight-for-age Z-score ≥-1·00) children aged 6-24 months.
Results: Among 468 underweight children, 23·1 % were sufficient, 42·3 % insufficient, 31·2 % deficient and 3·4 % severely vitamin D deficient. Among 445 normal-weight children, 14·8 % were sufficient, 39·6 % insufficient and 40·0 % deficient and 5·6 % severely deficient. With adjusted multinominal regression analysis, risk factors (OR (95 % CI)) for vitamin D deficiency in underweight children were: older age group (18-24 months old; 2·9 (1·5-5·7)); measurement of vitamin D status during winter (3·0 (1·4-6·4)) and spring (6·9 (3·0-16·1)); and maternal education (≥6 years of institutional education; 2·2 (1·0-4·9)). In normal-weight children, older age group (3·6 (1·2-10·6)) and living in the richest quintile (3·7 (1·1-12·5)) were found to be significantly associated with vitamin D insufficiency.
Conclusions: The study demonstrates a significant burden of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in both underweight and normal-weight children <2 years of age from an urban slum of Bangladesh. Identification of risk factors may help in mitigating the important burden in such children.
Keywords: Bangladesh; Children aged <2 years; Risk factors; Vitamin D.