Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

objectiveThis study was conducted to estimate the common signs and symptoms present in patients with vitamin D deficiency at a children's specialty hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

methodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study (n = 805) examined patients aged <18 years with a serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration of <50 ng/mL and presenting to the hospital between 2017 and 2018. Variables (age, gender, nationality, vitamin D levels, signs and symptoms, and primary complaint) were described using frequencies and mean values (SD). Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted.

resultsAmong the 805 patients, 315 (39.2%) had vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL). Regarding the symptoms of these 315 patients, 26% (n = 82) of them were asymptomatic, 13.3% (n = 42) of them had endocrine symptoms and other/rare symptoms, and 11.7% (n = 37) of them had gastrointestinal symptoms. The least common symptoms were found in the mixed category (mixed symptoms of different body systems), consisting of 3.5% (n = 11) of patients. Vitamin D deficiency was more common among female patients (44.8%) and Emiratis (40.5%), and the average age for patients to have vitamin D deficiency was nine years.

conclusionTo our knowledge, this is one of the first studies in the United Arab Emirates to focus on and examine patients with low vitamin D levels in detail. Determining the most frequent symptoms is helpful for healthcare practitioners because our results showed that most patients with the deficiency were asymptomatic. Hence, we recommend performing regular checkups for healthy and asymptomatic children to detect vitamin D deficiency before they show any symptoms.