RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Vitamin D supplementation: are multivitamins sufficient?
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 791
OP 793
DO 10.1136/archdischild-2018-316339
VO 105
IS 8
A1 Rebecca J Moon
A1 Elizabeth M Curtis
A1 Cyrus Cooper
A1 Justin H Davies
A1 Nicholas C Harvey
YR 2020
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/105/8/791.abstract
AB Background Public Health England advises 400 IU/day vitamin D supplementation for children over 1 year. Commercially available children’s multivitamin and vitamin D supplements were surveyed to determine the vitamin D content.Methods Multivitamins and vitamin D supplements marketed at children <12 years and sold by nine UK supermarkets and health supplement retailers were surveyed. Vitamin D content was determined from manufacturer’s websites and product packaging.Results 67 multivitamins were surveyed, containing 0–800 IU/day vitamin D. Only 25%–36%, depending on the child’s age, provided ≥400 IU/day vitamin D. Supplements containing only vitamin D or labelled as for ‘healthy bones’ typically had higher vitamin D content (57%–67% contained ≥400 IU/day).Conclusions Few multivitamin products supply the recommended 400 IU/day vitamin D. Clinicians need to be aware of this when recommending vitamin D supplementation and advise parents/carers to choose a product that contains ≥400 IU/day vitamin D.