Community child health, public health and epidemiology – The impact of atmospheric pollution on vitamin D status of infants and toddlers in Delhi, India F
Archives of Diseases in Childhood BMJ http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/adc.87.2.111
K S Agarwal1, M Z Mughal2, P Upadhyay3, J L Berry4, E B Mawer4, J M Puliyel1
- Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D has the following reasons
- Pollution reduces the amount of time that people are outdoors
- Pollution attenuates the amount of UVB getting to the skin (by only a few percent)
- Pollution is often associated with hot temperatures, another reason to not go outdoors
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Aims: To compare the vitamin D status of 34 children, 9–24 months old, living in an area of Delhi renowned for high levels of atmospheric pollution (Mori Gate), with a comparable age matched group of children from a less polluted (Gurgaon) area of the city.
Methods: Serum concentrations of calcium, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) were measured. Haze scores, regarded as a surrogate marker of solar UVB radiation reaching ground level, were measured in both areas.
Results: Mean 25(OH)D of children in the Mori Gate area was 12.4 (7) ng/ml, compared with 27.1 (7) ng/ml in children living in the Gurgaon area (p < 0.001). The median ALP (p < 0.05) and mean PTH (p < 0.001) concentrations were higher in children living in the Mori Gate area than in the Gurgaon area. The mean haze score in the Mori Gate area (2.1 (0.5)) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than in the Gurgaon area (2.7 (0.4)), indicating less solar UVB reaching the ground in Mori Gate.
Conclusion: We suggest that children living in areas of high atmospheric pollution are at risk of developing vitamin D deficiency rickets and should be offered vitamin D supplements.