Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency among overweight and obese preschool children in 
Yuelu District of Changsha

To investigate the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency among 3-5 years old overweight and obese children in Yuelu district of Changsha and to give scientific suggestion for children health promotion.


Methods: Based on the stratified cluster sampling method, 2 872 children aged 3-5 years old from Yuelu district were enrolled from Oct to Dec 2015. All participants have received biochemical and physical examination. According to the body mass index, the prevalence rates of vitamin D insufficiency [serum 25(OH)D level 20-<30 ng/mL] and deficiency [serum 25(OH)D level<20 ng/mL] among normal weight, overweight/obese children were calculated, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between overweight/obese and vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency.


Results: The prevalence rates of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency among children aged 3-5 years old were 39.6% (95% CI 37.8% to 41.4%) and 19.5% (95% CI 18.1% to 21.0%), respectively. Compared to children with normal weight, overweight/obese children had higher prevalence rate of vitamin D insufficiency [48.6% (95% CI 44.4% to 52.9%)] and deficiency [24.6% (95% CI 21.1% to 28.4%)] (P<0.017). After adjustment with confounding variables, the associations between overweight/obese and vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency were still statistically significant [for insufficiency ORadj=1.17 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.43); for deficiency ORadj=1.22 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.51)].


Conclusion: Compared with normal weight children, overweight/obese children have higher prevalence rate of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency. More attention should be paid to those populations for prevention of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency.