Vitamin D Supplementation Urged For Breast-Fed, Dark-Skinned Infants

[Guest guest]

i just got this sent to me. i figured someone might be interrested.

*smile*

chris

Vitamin D Supplementation Urged For Breast-Fed, Dark-Skinned Infants

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WESTPORT, Jun 19 (Reuters Health) - Dark-skinned infants are at

increased

risk of developing rickets, particularly if they are primarily breast-

fed,

according to researchers in Texas.

This risk remains even in infants who live in primarily sunny regions

of the

country, Dr. Mouin G. Seikaly, of the University of Texas

Southwestern

Medical Center at Dallas, and a multicenter team say in the June

issue of

Texas Medicine.

The team successfully treated eight toddlers and one infant for

rickets at

the Texas ish Rite Hospital between 1997 and 1998. They report

that

eight of the children were African American and one was Hispanic. All

had

been primarily breast-fed but none had received vitamin D

supplementation.

Dr. Seikaly and colleagues point out that melanin, because it acts as

a

natural sunscreen, reduces the amount of vitamin D the body produces

as a

result of exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, because breast-milk is

low in

vitamin D, infants who are both dark-skinned and breast-fed are at

even

greater risk of developing vitamin D deficiency.

" Primary healthcare providers should consider vitamin D

supplementation in

all dark-skinned infants and, especially, in those children who are

primarily

breast-fed, " the investigators recommend, regardless of the

geographic region

in which they live. They call upon the major medical organizations to

promote

the importance of vitamin D supplementation " to all breast-fed

infants and,

particularly, to those with increased skin pigmentation. "