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Summary: Adolescence, a period of growth and acquisition of bone mass, requires adequate calcium and vitamin D intake. This study was designed to assess the impact of a single loading dose of 200,000 IU of vitamin D3 on the winter vitamin D status of healthy adolescents. Vitamin D status was assessed by 25-OH-D levels before, 3 weeks, and 3 months after this single dose, and safety was assessed by serum calcium and PTH and urinary calcium excretion in random samples from 27, 23, and 17 healthy adolescents derived from the same institution. The 25-OH-D peak value 2 weeks after the vitamin D supplement of 71–129 nmol/l (mean, 96 nmol/l), and a residual level at 3 months of 29–83 nmol/l (mean, 57 nmol/l) serum calcium and urinary calcium excretion expressed by the calcium/creatinine ratio were normal and stable at 2 weeks and 3 months, remaining less than 0.5 for the calcium/creatinine ratio. This simple measure, ensuring good compliance during adolescence, ensures optimal winter vitamin D status with no signs of overload. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Aims: The aim of the study was to assess compliance with the current recommendations of prophylactic prescription of vitamin D via a multicentric cross-sectional epidemiological survey of 3240 children under 6years of age. Method: Parent questionnaires and data from the health records of children presenting to the emergency departments of 25 teaching hospitals and hospital centers provided information on the children''s characteristics, their prescriptions, and other vitamin D intake. Based on the currently applicable recommendations, intakes of 600–1200IU/day — 900–1500 IU/day for children with pigmented skin and/or premature and/or hypotrophic children — are considered adequate. Results: In 1606 infants, 9.8% of the prescriptions were below and 23.7% were above the recommendations; in 1256 children between 18 months and 5years of age, 53.4% of the prescriptions were below and 5.1% were above the recommendations. Children at risk, those from the southern half of France, and those between 18months and 5years of age were more likely to receive a prescription below the recommendations; their risk of receiving a prescription above the recommended guidelines was smaller. Of the children aged between 61 and 71months, 85% had not received any prescription at all during the previous 12months. These results were compared with the laboratory data collected from a subsample of children. There was a significant correlation between the adequacy of the prescription and the biological vitamin D status both for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) serological concentrations and for calciuria. Conclusions: Only 66.6% of the prescriptions in children between 0 and 18months of age and 41.5% in children between 19months and 5 years of age comply with the recommendations; 53.4% of the prescriptions in the latter age group are below the current recommendations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Adolescence, a period of growth and acquisition of bone mass, requires adequate calcium and vitamin D intake. This study was designed to assess the impact of a single loading dose of 200,000 IU of vitamin D(3) on the winter vitamin D status of healthy adolescents. Vitamin D status was assessed by 25-OH-D levels before, 3 weeks, and 3 months after this single dose, and safety was assessed by serum calcium and PTH and urinary calcium excretion in random samples from 27, 23, and 17 healthy adolescents derived from the same institution. The 25-OH-D peak value 2 weeks after the vitamin D supplement of 71-129 nmol/l (mean, 96 nmol/l), and a residual level at 3 months of 29-83 nmol/l (mean, 57 nmol/l) serum calcium and urinary calcium excretion expressed by the calcium/creatinine ratio were normal and stable at 2 weeks and 3 months, remaining less than 0.5 for the calcium/creatinine ratio. This simple measure, ensuring good compliance during adolescence, ensures optimal winter vitamin D status with no signs of overload., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)