{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T15:53:18Z","timestamp":1787932398298,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,7]],"date-time":"2024-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1730937600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining bone health with numerous benefits for extraskeletal health as well. Objectives: We aimed to assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children (0\u201318 years old) in a tertiary hospital in Romania between August 2019 and January 2024 and to investigate the role of adequate supplementation in this vulnerable population. Methods: The serum 25(OH)D levels were measured using a chemiluminescence binding assay. Results: A total of 744 participants were included in this study: 396 female (53.23%) and 348 male (46.77%). The serum levels of 25(OH)D ranged between 2.2 and 125.4 ng\/mL, with a mean value of 27.4 ng\/mL and a median value of 23.5 ng\/mL. According to the cutoff values for the definition of vitamin D status (severe deficiency: &lt;10 ng\/mL, deficiency: &lt;20 ng\/mL, insufficiency: 20\u201329 ng\/mL, and sufficiency: \u226530 ng\/mL), the sample consisted of 77 (10.34%) cases of severe deficiency, 221 (29.7%) cases of deficiency, 194 (26.07%) cases of insufficiency, and 245 (32.93%) cases of sufficiency. There were seven cases of hypervitaminosis D with values above 100 ng\/mL. The mean values (and corresponding 95% confidence intervals, CIs) were as follows: 27.85 ng\/mL [25.95\u201329.76] in the males, 22.45 ng\/mL [25.12\u201328.82] in the females, 24.82 ng\/mL [21.86\u201327.77] in the spring, 28.62 ng\/mL [26.42\u201330.81] in the summer, 32.30 ng\/mL [29.16\u201335.44] in the autumn, and 24.01 ng\/mL [21.57\u201326.44] in the winter. We observed a notable decline in the serum 25(OH)D levels with age, with 82.08% of the children in the age group above 6 years old having serum 25(OH)D levels below 30 ng\/mL. In obese subjects, a higher prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was observed compared to non-obese subjects, with a mean value of 19.54 [17.50\u201321.57] ng\/mL in obese children versus 28.89 [27.39\u201330.40] ng\/mL in normal weight children. Conclusions: In our sample, the mean serum concentration of 25(OH)D was 27.4 ng\/mL. Notably, 66.11% of the cases demonstrated varying degrees of hypovitaminosis D, with a significantly higher prevalence of 86.16% observed in the obese group. Healthcare providers should prioritize routine screening for vitamin D levels in pediatric patients with obesity to facilitate timely intervention and personalized supplementation strategies tailored to individual needs<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16223808","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,7]],"date-time":"2024-11-07T06:41:22Z","timestamp":1730961682000},"page":"3808","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Vitamin D Deficiency: Insights and Perspectives from a Five-Year Retrospective Analysis of Children from Northeastern Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Gabriela","family":"Ghiga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3018-8011","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"\u021aarc\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viorel","family":"\u021aarc\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dental Medicine, Apollonia University, 700511 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Concrete Structures, Building Materials, Technology and Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Building Services, \u201cGheorghe Asachi\u201d Technical University, 700050 Ia\u015fi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7015-0085","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena Lia","family":"Spoial\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriela","family":"P\u0103duraru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicoleta","family":"Gimiga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura Otilia","family":"Boca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Otilia","family":"Iftinchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u0103d\u0103lina Andreea","family":"Donos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorena Mihaela","family":"Manole","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8326-7610","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura Mihaela","family":"Trandafir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cSf\u00e2nta Maria\u201d Emergency Hospital for Children, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Glisson, F., Bate, G., and Regemorter, A. (1660). 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